Arbutus hep B trial hit with FDA hold

Today's Big News

Apr 25, 2023

Novartis prunes assets, axing 10% of pipeline programs to narrow R&D focus


Biogen 'could migrate' from neuroscience to immunology, with $10B 'dry powder'  


Busy with 3 program launches this year, Biogen trims pipeline


Arbutus’ oral checkpoint inhibitor is kept at FDA’s gates, slapped with clinical hold 


Chasing Seres, Vedanta bags $107M to run phase 3 C. diff trial of stool-free microbiome therapy


Novartis pens $425M biobucks deal with German biotech, scooping up more radiopharmaceutical tech


Ultimovacs pushes back phase 2 cancer vaccine readout after patients see sluggish melanoma growth


Mount Sinai launches regenerative medicine outpost to translate research into medicines


‘Slow start’ to UK biotech investment in 2023 as companies ‘work harder’ for funding: report


Glimpse of success? Life Biosciences' gene therapy restores visual function in primates with eye disorder 


Immunosuppressant antibody opens up new treatment path for chronic transplant rejection 

 

Featured

Novartis prunes assets, axing 10% of pipeline programs to narrow R&D focus

Novartis has undertaken an old-fashioned decimation of its pipeline. The Swiss drugmaker has decided to dump or out-license 10% of its R&D projects to narrow its sights on five core therapeutic areas and focus investment on its most promising programs within those spaces.
 

Top Stories

Biogen 'could migrate' from neuroscience to immunology, with $10B 'dry powder'

Long known as a neuroscience company, Biogen “could migrate” into immunology, CEO Christopher Viehbacher signaled Tuesday.

Busy with 3 program launches this year, Biogen trims pipeline

With three launches to come this year, something has to give over at Biogen—and what's giving will be three programs in stroke, gene therapy and ophthalmology.

Arbutus' oral checkpoint inhibitor is kept at FDA's gates, slapped with clinical hold

Arbutus Biopharma’s clinical trial aspirations are paused after the FDA slapped a clinical hold on an application to study a hepatitis B treatment.

Chasing Seres, Vedanta bags $107M to run phase 3 C. diff trial of stool-free microbiome therapy

Vedanta Biosciences has found investors willing to bankroll its phase 3 microbiome clinical trial. While a funding freeze recently forced Finch Therapeutics to fold its rival program, Vedanta has reeled in $106.5 million to challenge Seres Therapeutics’ near-approval SER-109 for an infectious disease opportunity.

Novartis pens $425M biobucks deal with German biotech, scooping up more radiopharmaceutical tech

Novartis is doling out $40 million cash for exclusive licensing rights to 3B Pharmaceuticals’ cancer-targeting tech, wrapping up some loose ends for a radiotherapy picked up from Clovis Oncology at the end of last year.

Ultimovacs pushes back phase 2 cancer vaccine readout after patients see sluggish melanoma growth

Slowing disease progression is the holy grail of many drug developers, but it can mess with a company’s timelines when encountered unexpectedly.

Mount Sinai launches regenerative medicine outpost to translate research into medicines

Mount Sinai is bolstering its regenerative medicine research with the establishment of a new institute. The Institute of Regenerative Medicine will have three related wings with the overarching goal of turning novel research into medicines.

‘Slow start’ to UK biotech investment in 2023 as companies ‘work harder’ for funding: report

U.K. biotech investment got off to a “slow start” this year, with the amount raised in the first quarter dropping 39%, according to the latest report from an industry body.

Glimpse of success? Life Biosciences' gene therapy restores visual function in primates with eye disorder

Preclinical success in primates could put a new gene therapy on the path to becoming the first-ever treatment for non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, along with many other aging diseases of the eye.

After delays, bluebird's sickle cell gene therapy finally lands at the FDA's desk

After a partial clinical hold caused bluebird to miss its own first-quarter FDA filing goal, the company says its sickle cell disease gene therapy application is in.

Immunosuppressant antibody opens up new treatment path for chronic transplant rejection

A new study illuminates a novel path to preventing chronic kidney transplant rejection in mice. The researchers hope their findings will lay the groundwork for a clinical trial.

Insulet's 3-day insulin pod for Type 2 diabetes scores FDA clearance

The FDA is on a roll. Fresh off handing down an approval to Medtronic’s latest insulin pump, the agency has doled out a nod for yet another diabetes device, this time to Insulet.

Accel Research expands reach with acquisition of two Florida trial sites

Accel Research Sites Network, which operates clinical trial sites in the southern U.S., has expanded its operations with the addition of two sites in Florida.

After massive equity awards, Regeneron's top 2 execs collected smaller pay packages in 2022

Because of an enormous, front-loaded equity award deal in 2020, Regeneron's top two execs did not receive stock awards from the company in 2022. As a result, CEO Len Schleifer collected $7 million, while chief scientific officer George Yancopoulos pulled down $6.6 million, according to the company’s most recent SEC filing.

Home care industry touts bipartisan bill to expand Medicare in-home benefits, reimbursement

An advocacy group representing big names like DaVita, Amazon and Ascension says the proposed legislation would be welcomed by beneficiaries and could help cut costs for the government.
 
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'The Top Line': How Pfizer became the first in Big Pharma history to break $100B in sales, plus this week's headlines

This week on "The Top Line," we talk about how Pfizer became the first company in Big Pharma history with $100 billion in sales. We also dive into a J&J data leak, Eli Lilly's manufacturing spending plan and more of this week's top headlines.
 

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How can specialized expertise help you optimize your clinical supply chain? Learn about the roles and responsibilities of unique experts such as clinical supply management, project management, and financial project analysis.
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Explore Catalent’s newest clinical supply facility in Japan, including the comprehensive services & solutions it offers to help support trials both in-country & around the world.
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