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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

J&J single shot sees 66% efficacy in moderate COVID-19, 85% in severe cases; shares fall

Johnson & Johnson saw its shares fall 4% in early trading on the news that its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine saw 66% efficacy in moderate to severe disease, rising to 85% in severe disease.

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Thank you to Catalent for sponsoring this year's JPM 2021 coverage.

Top Stories

Novavax COVID-19 vaccine 90% efficacious in phase 3, but protection plummets against one variant

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine has achieved 89.3% efficacy in a phase 3 clinical trial that enrolled subjects exposed to the B.1.1.7 variant found in the U.K. However, the vaccine performed far worse in a smaller phase 2b that pitted it against another variant first identified in South Africa, intensifying concerns that updated prophylactics will be needed to protect against the evolving virus.

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Biogen shares jump on FDA delay for its Alzheimer's hopeful aducanumab

Rip up the rulebooks: It’s no longer investing 101, but investing 2021, where anything goes.

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WCLC: Amgen's KRAS drug pads its case for approval with global filings underway

As regulators across the world make their way through the submission for what could be the first approved KRAS inhibitor, Amgen is unveiling its biggest data set yet in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The drug, sotorasib, curbed tumor growth in 81% of patients and shrank tumors in 37% of them.

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Arch raises $1.9B to build another crop of breakthrough biotechs

Arch Venture Partners has closed its largest fund to date. The new investment fund gives Arch $1.85 billion to support the creation and advancement of early-stage biotech companies. 

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WCLC: J&J's bispecific antibody hinders 74% of lung cancers with rare EGFR mutation

Johnson & Johnson’s EGFR-MET bispecific antibody is padding its case ahead of a potential FDA nod. The drug shrank tumors in 40% of lung cancer patients with a rare EGFR mutation and curbed tumor growth in nearly three-quarters of patients. The phase 2 data come from 81 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertions.

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TALEN gene editing tool more efficient than CRISPR-Cas9 in compact DNA: study

CRISPR-Cas9 has made waves in the biomedical world as a revolutionary gene editing tool, but it has its limitations. A team from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign showed that an alternate technology, TALEN, is up to five times more efficient than CRISPR-Cas9 in highly compact forms of DNA.

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FDA blasts Lonza facility in Form 483 that derailed Bristol Myers' plan of liso-cel nod by 2020

A manufacturing shortfall likely cost Bristol Myers Squibb the chance of an FDA approval for CAR-T therapy liso-cel by the end of 2020—and sent a potential $9-apiece Celgene deal sweetener into the trash can. Investors looking for details of the expensive misstep now have the answers in an FDA Form 483.

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Fierce Pharma Asia—Lilly's COVID-19 antibody results, Asahi Kasei deal; Takeda's EGFR lung cancer data

Eli Lilly's COVID-19 antibody cocktail reduced hospitalization and death among high-risk patients. The Indianapolis pharma licensed a clinical-stage pain med from Asahi Kasei Pharma. Takeda reported positive results for its EGFR inhibitor in lung cancer. And more.

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Chutes & Ladders—Roivant's Ramaswamy pegs CFO Giles for chief executive role

Karuna Pharmaceuticals tapped neuroscience veteran Ronald Marcus, M.D., as its new SVP of medical. Roivant CEO Ramaswamy is moving up to an executive chairman role. Faze Medicines names Northern Biologics, Shire vet as CEO.

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Resources

Content Hub: Access resources to guide your molecule from lab to clinic

It’s an exciting time to pioneer what could be a life-changing medicine. Clear the path to the clinic with pro tips and expert insights from industry leaders.

Webinar: Using SPOT™ & CHO-BC® During Cell Line Development for Titers up to 9 g/L

Innovative cell lines and early process development are critical to generate a high producing cell lines alongside a USP strategy to meet high quality standards.

Whitepaper: Success in Rare Diseases: Understanding the Rare Disease Ecosystem

Biopharma companies in rare diseases: How to maximize the odds of success by becoming a valued member of the unique “rare disease ecosystem.”

Content Hub: Emerging Biotech Resource Center

A one-stop hub for Cytiva resources to support process development and manufacturing of your novel molecule

Whitepaper: Accelerate innovation and manufacturing to better serve patients

A significant number of new treatments have been approved so far, but some manufacturing and regulatory guidelines pose challenges for advanced therapies, leading to poor production yields.

Survey: Cell and Gene Clinical Supply Needs Market Research Survey

Cell and gene therapies hold the promise to offer novel therapeutic avenues for individuals facing serious medical conditions, but bringing them through the clinical trial process introduces a level of supply chain risk and complexity.

Whitepaper: Gene and Cell Therapy: A New Age of Medicine

Gene and cell therapy are shifting paradigms for manufacturers, patients, healthcare providers and pharmacies. We invite you to learn more by reading Gene and Cell Therapy: A New Age of Medicine.

Executive Summary: Manufacturing Strategies to Effectively Industrialize Autologous Cell Therapies

Autologous cell therapies have seen propelled growth since 2017, with the spotlight on the first FDA approval of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy, Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel), for the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Whitepaper: The Future of Pharmacovigilance

Download the whitepaper to learn how your safety organization can implement automation technologies to enable process and cost efficiencies, improve resource allocation and ensure compliance and quality.

Research: Premier Research Resource Hub

Browse the latest learnings and insights from our clinical development professionals.

Infographic: Reducing Time to Clinic for Your Biomedical Applications

This infographic describes the benefits of GelMA in various biomedical applications and how X-Pure® GelMA can help you in your developments.

eBrief: Drug Product Process Development: Ensuring a Consistent, High-quality Biologic

Learn about drug product process development challenges and risks, the difference between innovator and biosimilar drug product process development, and more during the drug product process development phase.

Q&A: Planning Successful Launches

Learn about proven strategies for a successful product launch, including cross-functional team collaboration, risk management and using the right project management tools.

eBook: CMC Considerations for Successful Early Drug Development

This eBook provides insights on key approaches and considerations for preparing your drug development program for long-term success.

Webinar: Phase Appropriate Expertise and Technologies to Accelerate Product Development to Commercialization

In this webinar, pharmaceutical scientists present real-life examples of challenges they’ve overcome in the transfer of oral small molecules from a dedicated early-phase development site to a dedicated late-phase manufacturing site.

Whitepaper: Achieving a Successful Drug Product Technology Transfer

Get insights on key considerations for a successful tech transfer process for manufacturing a biologic drug product, including a case study on overcoming challenges in a process transfer for a sterile diluent.

Whitepaper: The Art of Recognizing Clinical Supply Risk Factors

In a BioPharma Dive industry survey, planning and forecasting were identified as top concerns for trial sponsors. In response to this need, the CSM team at Catalent has developed a methodology for identifying, evaluating, and proactively managing the inherent risks involved in clinical trial supply chain management.

Case Study: Establishing Parameters for Success

Learn about a real-world example of how clinical supply management expertise was applied to overcome inventory challenges for a complex, global study.

Fact Sheet: Forecasting to Optimize Clinical Trial Supply Management

Whether a study is simple or highly complex, forecasting and simulation reports serve as data driven communication tools to help minimize risks and keep the study on track. Learn more about forecasting solutions for informed decision making and supporting contingency planning for clinical study.

eBook: Expecting the Unexpected: Strategies for Efficient Clinical Supply Management and Forecasting

Learn how to drive excellence within the forecasting process and utilize forecasting throughout the clinical study to better plan clinical supply budgets and project timelines. Explore how to identify potential supply-related issues before they can negatively impact your study.

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