Novo pays $530M to join Korro cardiometabolic choir

Today’s Big News

Sep 16, 2024

AstraZeneca steps out from Daiichi's shadow, posting data on ADC rivals to AbbVie, Pfizer


Novo Nordisk's latest RNA deal involves $530M biobucks to sing in Korro's opera


Pfizer sees weight gain in cancer patients, aims to enter phase 3 in 2025


Bristol Myers axes Immatics' bispecific after $150M bet


Star of the show: iTeos-GSK's TIGIT combo shows 30% more tumor shrinkage than Jemperli in phase 2


'Cooking with gas': Regeneron sees its Opdualag rival as next big thing for treating solid tumors


Lantheus' phase 3 radiotherapy readout not enough to topple Pluvicto, say analysts


Boehringer's phase 3 lung fibrosis trial hits primary endpoint, teeing up filings for Ofev successor


Jazz HER2 bispecific posts 59% survival at 30 months in gastric cancer


IO Biotech's vaccine and Keytruda combo hits primary endpoint in phase 2 squamous cell carcinoma trial


Biolexis enters oral GLP-1 horse race with preclinical study showing small molecule reduced weight of obese mice


Eli Lilly sells Life Sciences Studio lab to Arctoris, moving automation platform from San Diego to Oxford

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Featured

ESMO: AstraZeneca steps out from Daiichi's shadow, posting data on ADC rivals to AbbVie, Pfizer

AstraZeneca has shared an early look at the performance of its in-house antibody-drug conjugate technology, publishing phase 1 data on candidates that could compete with molecules from AbbVie and Pfizer.
 

Top Stories

Novo Nordisk's latest RNA deal involves $530M biobucks to sing in Korro's opera

Novo Nordisk isn’t letting up on the RNA deals, this time penning a $530 million biobucks deal to work with Korro Bio on two cardiometabolic-related targets.

ESMO: Pfizer sees weight gain in cancer patients, aims to enter phase 3 in 2025

Cancer patients with wasting syndrome have gained weight after taking Pfizer’s anti-GDF-15 antibody in a midphase study, emboldening the Big Pharma to target a 2025 start date for its pivotal trial program.

Beyond data: Humanizing clinical research with Avacare

With intricate protocols and shifting regulatory demands, it’s more difficult than ever to find and keep participants, as well as gather reliable data.

ESMO: Bristol Myers axes Immatics' bispecific after $150M bet

Bristol Myers Squibb has jettisoned another cancer candidate in-licensed under its former CEO. Immatics is the latest partner to get a termination notice, leaving it in full control of a bispecific molecule that BMS picked up for $150 million upfront late in 2021.

Star of the show: iTeos-GSK's TIGIT combo shows 30% more tumor shrinkage than Jemperli in phase 2

After announcing a phase 3 launch based on positive midstage results, iTeos and GSK are finally sharing the highlights from the phase 2 TIGIT trial, revealing a more than 30% difference in confirmed overall response rates between the investigational treatment versus monotherapy.

'Cooking with gas': Regeneron sees its Opdualag rival as next big thing for treating solid tumors

Regeneron is back with long-term follow-up results for its LAG-3 inhibitor and PD-1 inhibitor combo in advanced melanoma, phase 1 findings that have prompted the company to launch four phase 3 programs with the intent to rival Bristol Myers Squibb's Opdualag.

ESMO: Lantheus' phase 3 radiotherapy readout not enough to topple Pluvicto, say analysts

Lantheus may have been hoping that “statistically significant” phase 3 data for its radioligand therapy would make a splash at ESMO, but not everyone is impressed.

Boehringer's phase 3 lung fibrosis trial hits primary endpoint, teeing up filings for Ofev successor

Boehringer Ingelheim has ended a decade of industrywide failures in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by reporting a phase 3 win for a potentially first-in-class candidate and outlining plans to seek approval.

ESMO: Jazz HER2 bispecific posts 59% survival at 30 months in gastric cancer

Jazz Pharmaceuticals has posted fresh phase 2 data on zanidatamab that show the HER2-targeted bispecific antibody kept 59% of people with metastatic gastroesophageal cancer alive for at least 30 months.

ESMO: IO Biotech's vaccine and Keytruda combo hits primary endpoint in phase 2 squamous cell carcinoma trial

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the superheroes of cancer therapy. Drugs like Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo and Merck’s Keytruda are among the most profitable in the world—Keytruda pulled in $25 billion last year, making it the bestselling drug of 2023. But every good superhero needs a sidekick.

Biolexis enters oral GLP-1 horse race with preclinical study showing small molecule reduced weight of obese mice

Another contender has emerged in the race to develop oral GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. Biolexis Therapeutics’ small molecule BLX-7006 reduced the weight of obese mice by 15% over a 28-day span.

Eli Lilly sells Life Sciences Studio lab to Arctoris, moving automation platform from San Diego to Oxford

Four years after launching a remote-controlled robotic laboratory in San Diego, Eli Lilly is shipping the operation overseas. The Big Pharma is selling a majority of the Life Sciences Studio laboratory to Arctoris, a contract research organization with headquarters in Oxford, England and Boston.

Walgreens eyes 'tremendous growth' for clinical trials as part of transformation strategy

Walgreens sees a long runway for its two-year-old clinical trials business as it doubles down on its core retail pharmacy operations. Ramita Tandon, chief clinical trials officer, shared insights about Walgreens' strategy to ramp up its clinical research capabilities during TD Cowen’s recent 9th Annual FutureHealth Conference.

ESMO: With survival win, Merck's Keytruda redeems itself in early triple-negative breast cancer

In 2021, the FDA blasted Merck for using premature data to pursue a Keytruda approval in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. Now, the PD-1 inhibitor has gold-standard overall survival data to back its case.
 
Fierce podcasts

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A closer look at the Fierce 50

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Resources

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On Helix

Date: ‌4 ‌July ‌2024 ‌- ‌Location: ‌Babraham ‌Research ‌Campus, ‌Cambridge ‌UK

 

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