Zealand edges closer to rival Takeda bowel disease drug

Today's Big News

Sep 30, 2022

Solid Bio hopes to fortify itself after fusing with AavantiBio, but not before axing its lead asset

Zealand rival to Takeda bowel disease drug hits goal in phase 3

Kinarus stops midphase study in hospitalized COVID-19 patients early, adding to long list of failed trials

New pediatric data shoot Rocket's gene therapy toward phase 2, leaving behind FDA concerns

Fierce Biotech Summit: Disruptive gene technology is here—and society seems willing to pay for it  

Leveraging machine learning to hone precision meds targeting cancer backup genes 

Chutes & Ladders—Moderna elevates manufacturing lead Andres to new executive strategy role

 

Featured

Solid Bio hopes to fortify itself after fusing with AavantiBio, but not before axing its lead asset

Nearly six months after slashing more than a third of its workforce, Solid Biosciences is hoping to get on firmer footing through addition, not subtraction. The company is acquiring fellow gene therapy developer AavantiBio and raking in $75 million in new financing.
 

Top Stories

Zealand rival to Takeda bowel disease drug hits goal in phase 3

Zealand Pharma’s phase 3 short bowel syndrome study has hit its primary endpoint, delivering data that could equip it to seek approval for a challenger to Takeda’s Gattex.

Enhancing Patient Engagement with THREAD’s eCOA Solution

One aspect of study design to consider when building better research experiences for patients is a genuinely patient-centered eCOA (electronic clinical outcome assessment) program. Here are some tips for ensuring that your eCOA is built with the needs of patients in mind and able to deliver the kind of engagement necessary for successful trials.

Agilex Biolabs expands GLP Toxicology capacity with the commissioning of its new purpose designed testing facility

Australia’s largest and most technologically advanced provider of regulated bioanalysis and toxicology studies increases capacity by 500% with addition of new in-vivo facility in Brisbane

Kinarus stops midphase study in hospitalized COVID-19 patients early, adding to long list of failed trials

Kinarus Therapeutics is the latest company to swing and miss at the hospitalized COVID-19 opportunity. After seeing a who’s who of biopharma companies fail, the Swiss biotech has pulled the plug on a phase 2 clinical trial in response to the lackluster efficacy data reviewed at an interim analysis.

New pediatric data shoot Rocket's gene therapy toward phase 2, leaving behind FDA concerns

Having overcome FDA trial issues last year, Rocket Pharmaceuticals expects the latest early-stage data for its heart disease drug to give the gene therapy a long-awaited boost into phase 2 trials.

Fierce Biotech Summit: Disruptive gene technology is here—and society seems willing to pay for it

As the cell and gene field builds off a quarter of great scientific progress, the industry may be teetering on the brink of transforming medicine as we know it.

Amylyx's ALS drug finally scores FDA approval, but that's just the tip of the iceberg for ALS research, founders say

After a long and winding road filled with AdComms, the FDA has finally approved Amylyx's ALS drug, Relyvrio. In an interview with Fierce Pharma, the company's co-founders say there is more research to be done and more drugs to be made to meet the unmet needs of ALS patients.

Keytruda taught Merck how to build a blockbuster. But manufacturing a 2nd lightning bolt is easier said than done

Merck's Keytruda has dazzled since first nabbing approval in 2014, earning billions of dollars in revenue and expanding its reach to more than a dozen cancers. But as the drug's patent expiration nears, can Merck manufacture a second clinical lightning strike?

Leveraging machine learning to hone precision meds targeting cancer backup genes

Pinning down backup genes along with the metabolic pathways they’re regulating, has historically required tedious screenings that gave limited information about how different genes interact. Now, a team of researchers has used machine learning to streamline the process and add context that could make precision medicines more precise.

J&J Vision sees new FDA green light for contact lenses to combat nearsightedness

The agency’s latest approval for Acuvue Abiliti adds to its number of potential users by allowing the lenses to be offered with stronger vision correction prescriptions.

'The Top Line': What makes the Fierce 15 honorees tick, Fierce Biotech Summit's spotlight on gene editing and the bear market

This week on "The Top Line," we talk with many of the Fierce 15 honorees to find out what makes them unique. We also share highlights from the Fierce Biotech Summit on gene editing innovations and battling biotech's bear market.

Chutes & Ladders—Moderna elevates manufacturing lead Andres to new executive strategy role

Moderna promotes Andres to new future-looking strategy role. Troubled CytoDyn unveils new president amid pipeline pivot. GSK set to bring on Burberry CFO for same role after Mackay retires.

Fierce Pharma Asia—Eisai, Biogen's Alzheimer's win; Astellas, Pfizer patent fight; Sandoz plant sale

Eisai and Biogen's lecanemab clinched a surprise phase 3 Alzheimer's win. Astellas got a less-than-ideal temporary injunction against a Pfizer generic to Lexiscan. Novartis sold a Sandoz Chinese plant to a local CDMO. And more.
 
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'The Top Line': What makes the Fierce 15 honorees tick, Fierce Biotech Summit's spotlight on gene editing and the bear market

This week on "The Top Line," we talk with many of the Fierce 15 honorees to find out what makes them unique. We also share highlights from the Fierce Biotech Summit on gene editing innovations and battling biotech's bear market.
 

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