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Today's Rundown

    

Thank you to Janssen Oncology for sponsoring Fierce Biotech's ASCO coverage.

 

 

Featured Story

AdComm exodus: 2nd expert quits over FDA approval of Biogen's Aduhelm

Another member of the FDA’s advisory committee on nervous system drugs has quit over the approval of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s disease product Aduhelm, Reuters reports. Mayo Clinic neurologist David Knopman is the latest expert to leave the committee because of the FDA approval.

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Top Stories

Valo Health to go public via Khosla-backed SPAC, gaining $500M-plus

Another day, another SPAC deal. Three months after extending its crossover round to $300 million, Valo Health unveiled plans to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company formed by Khosla Ventures. The combined company will have about $750 million in the bank when the deal closes sometime in the third quarter.

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Acumen rides aducanumab, amyloid and Alzheimer's waves on its IPO voyage

Acumen Pharmaceuticals is wasting no time riding the waves of the FDA's conditional approval Monday of Biogen's aducanumab drug for Alzheimer's disease as the 25-year-old company filed for an IPO on Wednesday.

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Sponsored: In a Year of Crisis, Maryland Biotech Responds with Leadership

Prior to the pandemic, nearly a quarter of Maryland’s biopharm and medical tech companies focused on infectious diseases. As COVID-19 spread, dozens of Maryland companies joined the global response.

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Synthekine scores major $108M B round to secure set of trials in 12 months

Synthekine will enter the clinic twice over the next 12 months with lead cytokine candidates following a $107.5M series B Thursday that gives it runway to compete with other biotechs entering the space.

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Sponsored: Innovative POC MATLOC Digital Device for CKD

Health Logic Interactive is working on advanced technology called MATLOC that has the potential to revolutionize the Chronic Kidney Disease treatment space from the ground up.

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Senda drives 3 programs toward clinic with bumped-up $98M series B

Flagship Pioneering united its “intersystems biology” efforts under one roof last fall, and, now, that company is gearing up for human trials. With a $55 million boost, Senda Biosciences will push three programs into the clinic in 2022, including treatments for chronic kidney disease and metabolic diseases as well as an asset aimed at making checkpoint inhibitors work for more people.

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Bright Peak bags $107M to bankroll 'conveyor belt' of cytokine programs

Nearly a year after emerging from a Versant Ventures incubator, Bright Peak Therapeutics is reeling in a $107 million series B. The funding will advance Bright Peak’s pipeline of cytokine medicines toward the clinic and build out its underlying technology, though the company is keeping details close to the vest.

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ViaCyte extends series D by $45M one day after losing its chief scientific officer

ViaCyte snagged $45 million in a new tranche of financing to expand on a 2018 series D worth $80 million. The money will fund the biotech's work on two midstage candidates for type 1 diabetes, and it comes just a day after the biotech said its chief scientific officer is leaving.

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Prime Day deal? Amazon lands FDA go-ahead to sell COVID-19 tests directly to consumers

Just in time for its annual online sale event, Amazon has gotten the green light from the FDA to begin hawking its own COVID-19 test directly to consumers—potentially setting up the most coveted Prime Day deal of all.

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Old antidepressants show promise as immuno-oncology treatments in melanoma and colon cancer

A class of antidepressants known as MAOIs first hit the market in the 1950s and has since been eclipsed by drugs that are less likely to cause unwanted side effects. Now, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles have evidence that these drugs could help the immune system fight cancer.

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Resources

Whitepaper: How the rapid shift to point-of-care is reshaping diagnostics

Learn how the diagnostics industry is being fundamentally transformed with point-of-care molecular testing.

Whitepaper: How to Launch a Successful BYOD Strategy in Any Phase

For faster deployment, improved patient engagement, and better-quality data — go where your patients are. GO BYOD with Lunexis™ from Clinical Ink.

Paid Marketplace: Story of Success: Ashfield Healthcare Empowers Field Sales to Grow Market Share based on Data

Discover how Ashfield Healthcare uses the power of data and analytics to enable pre-call planning, inform sales rep actions and drive higher market share for its target pharmaceutical products.

eBook: Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials

Create a more diverse and inclusive clinical trial enrollment and engagement environment by learning the barriers to participation and the strategies to overcome them.

Whitepaper: Closed Cell Processing System Benefits for Cell & Gene Therapy

Autologous cell and gene therapy workflows involve isolating cells from an individual, engineering the cells, expanding and concentrating them, and infusing them back into the patient. Optimized automation of certain steps of the workflow may decrease hands-on time and the cost of the cell manufacturing process.

Guide: Your Guide to Overcome Inconsistent Clinical Data Standards

Learn how to develop a standards program that has your full team’s buy-in and improves the efficiency and quality of your clinical trials.

eBook: The New Standard: Virtual Study Training in Clinical Trials

The new standards in study training help sponsors and CROs reduce costs by 60%, cut training time by 50%, and start enrollment 55 days faster – learn more today.

Report: New research indicates an accelerated shift to decentralized clinical trials

New research indicates an accelerated adoption of decentralized clinical trials due to COVID-19.

Content Hub: Process Intensification Resource Center

A one-stop hub for Cytiva resources to support process intesification

Whitepaper: COVID-19 Survey report: The Lasting Impact on Outsourcing Decisions

How has COVID-19 impacted CRO/CDMO customer (dis)satisfaction and outsourcing decisions for pharma and biotech companies in 2021 and beyond?

Content Hub: Emerging Biotech Resource Center

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

Content Hub: Remarque Systems Resource Hub

Remarque Systems consolidates data, then layers on visualization and automated metrics to generate consistent, actionable data insights in real-time. Click here for more info. 

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.

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.

Events