Homology halts gene therapy trial to save cash
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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Merck bets big on circular RNA, paying $150M and dangling $3.5B in biobucks to work with Orna

Orna Therapeutics is in the money. Tuesday morning, the developer of fully engineered circular RNA therapies revealed a double dose of good news, simultaneously taking the lid off an alliance with Merck & Co. worth $150 million upfront and a $221 million series B financing.

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Top Stories

NexImmune sizes up the competition and decides to pause myeloma T-cell therapy plans

NexImmune has cited tough competition as the reason for pausing enrollment on one of its two clinical candidates, as the company diverts resources into launching a solid tumor therapy into human studies.

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Homology, after raising gene therapy from clinical hold, pauses trial enrollment to save cash

Homology Medicines is now able to enroll patients in its HMI-102 gene therapy trial—but is choosing not to. Having persuaded the FDA to lift the clinical hold in June, the biotech has now paused enrollment in the phenylketonuria study to free up cash for a gene editing trial in the same population.

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A year after FDA slammed on the breaks, BrainStorm is hitting the gas with updated data, approval plans

Almost a year and a half after the FDA spiked phase 3 data of BrainStorm's ALS therapy, the company is asking regulators for approval, pointing to amended figures. The company says that a new analysis of a subset of patients showed statistical significance.

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Scientists home in on hormone linked with liver cancer in NASH cases

Scientists from the University of Michigan have further uncovered the impact of a hormone secreted by fat cells in mice with NASH. When the hormone was knocked out in mice, there was an increase in tumor growth compared to the control.

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CRISPR offers genetic clues to Alzheimer's in brain's cleaning crew

A research team led by the University of California, San Francisco has identified genetic regulators of microglia’s disease states in the brain. The hope is to identify drugs that act on relevant genes or proteins to revert diseased microglia back to a healthy state to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

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After Trodelvy's approval in China, Gilead strikes $455M deal with Everest for Asian rights

When Gilead Sciences acquired Immunomedics in 2020, another company owned certain rights to the deal's crown jewel Trodelvy. Now, Gilead thinks it’s time to take it back.

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Health tech layoffs continue as Signify Health will cut nearly 500 jobs and Truepill reduces headcount, again

Digital health company Truepill has conducted its third round of layoffs in 2022, according to media reports. And Signify Health, the value-based home health provider reportedly being pursued by CVS Health, also cut its workforce as its shifts away from its episodes of care business.

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AbbVie unveils new Skyrizi TV ads with a subtler tone compared to its revved-up Rinvoq approach

This year, AbbVie has continually been a big spender in the TV ad drug stakes, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. After launching two new Rinvoq commercials this summer, the Big Pharma is now turning its attention to its second immunology blockbuster, Skyrizi.

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AstraZeneca heads to court to contest former exec's move to crosstown rival GSK: report

Angling to keep trade secrets out of a local rival’s hands, AstraZeneca has asked a London court to enforce and extend a noncompete agreement, Bloomberg reports.

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Philips CEO van Houten hands reins to head of beleaguered connected care business

After weathering the storm of Philips' ongoing respiratory device recall for about a year, CEO Frans van Houten is stepping back from the helm. Taking his place as chief executive will be Roy Jakobs, who’s been heading up Philips’ response to the recall for months.

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FTC warns states against laws permitting hospital mergers under special conditions

"Despite hospital claims that [Certificates of Public Advantage laws] will result in lower costs and improved population health outcomes, we are not aware of any proven benefits," FTC Director of Policy Planning Elizabeth Wilkins said Monday.

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