Could a NASH drug help COVID long haulers?
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Today's Rundown

 

Featured Story

UPDATE: Eli Lilly kick-starts speedy FDA review for Alzheimer's hopeful donanemab—and a one-on-one test against Aduhelm

The great Alzheimer's R&D resurgence continues as Eli Lilly nabs an accelerated FDA review for its mixed bag drug donanemab, while also plotting direct head-to-head tests against Biogen’s new and controversial therapy Aduhelm.

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Top Stories

Novartis dumps Rett gene therapy caught up in Zolgensma scandal in cull of pipeline prospects

Novartis has scrapped work on its Rett syndrome gene therapy AVXS-201 after finding the data don’t support further development. The action follows Novartis’ decision to gather extra data on the candidate in response to data manipulation during development of Zolgensma.

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Flagship-founded Axcella to test midstage NASH drug in patients with long COVID in phase 2a trial

Axcella Therapeutics will test its midstage NASH drug in patients with long COVID, or the presence of symptoms in the months following COVID-19 diagnosis. By year's end, the company will start testing the treatment in about 40 patients who tested positive at least 12 weeks prior and has agreement on the phase 2a trial design with the U.K.'s regulatory body.

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Sponsored: New Wacker Biotech site in San Diego (CA) serves growing pDNA demand for cell & gene therapy

Plasmid DNA Manufacturing: New Wacker Biotech site in San Diego (CA) serves growing pDNA demand for cell & gene therapy. Learn more about our plug & play platform.

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Lilly, Pfizer stop development of osteoarthritis drug after FDA rejection, extending bleak run for NGF inhibitors 

The NGF inhibitor class has claimed yet another victim. After seeing regulators on both sides of the Atlantic knock back filings for approval, Eli Lilly and Pfizer have stopped global clinical development of tanezumab.

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Vertex signs another Mammoth-sized CRISPR deal with $650M in biobucks on the line

Vertex Pharmaceuticals continues lining up CRISPR gene editing partners, this time linking arms with Jennifer Doudna-founded Mammoth Biosciences for $41 million upfront and $650 million in potential biobucks.

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Cambrian secures $100M series C for Roivant-like approach to biotech creation with goal to slow down human aging

Cambrian Biopharma will use $100 million in new financing to bankroll at least three clinical trials within the next 18 months. The biotech has 14 assets in its pipeline from 12 different partners, through a distributed investing model akin to Roivant and Atai, that it thinks reduces risks associated with the typical asset-centric startups.

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Eli Lilly, Bayer, Merck join Mozart's chorus to the tune of $55M, as it launches into allegro phase

Mozart Therapeutics is starting with Symphony No. 55, or $55 million in financing from some Big Pharma big wigs, including Eli Lilly, Bayer and Merck. The biotech hopes to use T cells to go after celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease and other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.

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Guardant’s liquid biopsy detects 96% of early-stage colorectal cancer cases with a single blood draw: study

Guardant's Lunar-2 liquid biopsy test is designed to catch colorectal cancer in its earliest stages and requires only a standard blood draw, offering a less invasive and time-consuming alternative to the current standards for screening.

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Early CARES funding was unevenly distributed to academic, well-off hospitals, study says

A new RAND Corporation study suggests early relief funds generally reached hospitals fielding the most COVID-19 patients but in the process left critical access hospitals out to dry.

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Is Sandoz spinoff finally here? Novartis gets the ball rolling with strategic review

When Novartis unveiled a plan in 2018 to grant its Sandoz generics business more autonomy, industry watchers read spinoff. Now, a separation may be around the corner.

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Resources

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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.

Whitepaper: Transform LIMS Data into Action-Ready Insights with Advanced Analytics

Shift from data collection to data science. Add advanced analytics to your lab informatics platform to yield valuable, action-ready insights from LIMS and other data.

Whitepaper: Clinical trial simulation: Advanced modeling techniques enable data-driven supply chain planning

Integrate supply chain simulation into your early clinical trial planning to minimize risk in an uncertain supply chain environment, improve supply chain outcomes, and help streamline time-to-market for innovative therapies.

Whitepaper: Big Challenges for Small Sponsors: Competition in Oncology Research

Every biopharma sponsor faces the challenge of initiating, running and closing trials on time, but oncology studies pose several unique hurdles.

eBook: Get solutions to market faster

Read Get to Know Cloud Content Management for Life Sciences and learn how to eliminate silos across all workflows, from R&D to commercialization.

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