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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine 70% effective, shares fall

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has achieved 70% efficacy in a late-phase analysis. The 70% figure is an average that masks variation in the performance of two dosing regimens, one of which was found to be 90% effective.

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Top Stories

Merck inks $425M OncoImmune buyout to bag COVID-19 drug

Merck has struck a deal to buy OncoImmune for its COVID-19 treatment CD24Fc. The $425 million cash acquisition will give Merck control of a fusion protein linked to improvements in clinical status in a phase 3 trial of severe and critical COVID-19 patients.

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Amgen kicks heart failure med back to Cytokinetics after 'GALACTIC' flop

After more than a decade working on heart failure programs with Cytokinetics, Amgen is handing two programs back to its partner. The move comes after their more advanced program beat placebo in a phase 3 study at warding off hospitalizations and other interventions in patients with a type of chronic heart failure—but did not help them live longer.

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ATAI snags $125M to bankroll mental health pipeline

ATAI Life Sciences is topping off a busy year with a $125 million financing, which will support the preclinical and clinical development for its mental health pipeline, including programs in opioid use disorder and depression. The series C round follows a $43 million round in March 2019.

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Belgium biotech argenx nabs Bayer speedy review voucher for a cool $98M

Big Pharma friend argenx has snapped up an FDA priority review voucher from Bayer for $98 million.

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Catamaran Bio sets sail with $42M to create off-the-shelf CAR-NK treatments

Cell therapies have seen success in some blood cancers, but the same can’t be said for solid tumors. Several biotechs have sprung up to close that gap in different ways, but Catamaran Bio thinks single “linchpin” approaches won’t be enough. Instead, it’s taking a multipronged approach shepherded by a team of cell therapy and biopharma veterans.

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Black Diamond's EFGR-targeted glioblastoma drug candidate slows tumor growth in mice

Black Diamond Therapeutics is targeting glioblastoma with its drug BDTX-1535, which is designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and inhibit several allosteric EGFR mutations. In mice, the drug inhibited tumor growth without affecting non-mutated forms of EGFR.

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Schrödinger's in-house pipeline helps fetch $2.7B molecule discovery deal with BMS

Like AstraZeneca, Bayer and Sanofi before it, Bristol Myers Squibb has now tapped molecule modeler Schrödinger for a drug discovery collaboration spanning multiple disease areas.

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Regeneron, following in Lilly's footsteps, wins FDA emergency nod for COVID-19 antibody cocktail

Regeneron's COVID-19 antibody cocktail, one of the drugs President Donald Trump took after being infected with the virus, has been cleared for emergency use by the FDA in an authorization that's almost identical to that of Eli Lilly's. Despite looming rollout of vaccines, one analyst sees the therapy as a steady $1 billion-plus asset.

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Resources

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.

Research Report: 2020 North America Customer Reference Data Survey

New industry-wide research reveals that the quality and breadth of HCP data is imperative as commercial teams adjust to remote engagement and execute a tailored approach. Read the full report to see all findings and benchmark your organization’s progress.

Whitepaper: Survey Reveals Demand for Clinical Trial Innovation in the Wake of COVID-19

The BBK Worldwide Study Voices 2020 survey gives voice to the healthcare consumer in the wake of COVID-19 and reveals important insights for clinical trial enrollment and engagement.

Whitepaper: How sites can navigate the COVID bandwidth crunch

Need additional site resources for your current or upcoming clinical trial?

eBook: Mass Spectrometry-based Host Cell Protein Analysis in Biologics Development

Download this eBook and Learn the Advantages of LC-MS based HCP Profiling for Development of Complex Biologics.

Webinar: Using SPOT™ & CHO-BC® During Cell Line Development for Titers up to 9 g/L

Innovative cell lines and early process development are critical to generate a high producing cell lines alongside a USP strategy to meet high quality standards.

Research: Premier Research Resource Hub

Browse the latest learnings and insights from our clinical development professionals.

eBook: THE NEED FOR TRIAL VIRTUALIZATION

Responding to site challenges. Approaching virtualization. Leveraging real-time data. Medidata shares 8 parameters to implement your virtualization strategy during COVID-19 and beyond. Download Now.

Infographic: Reducing Time to Clinic for Your Biomedical Applications

This infographic describes the benefits of GelMA in various biomedical applications and how X-Pure® GelMA can help you in your developments.

Whitepaper: Liquid-Filled Capsules for Highly Potent Drug Compounds

Liquid-filled hard capsule formulations offer unique options for the manufacture and dosing of highly potent actives.

Whitepaper: 6 API Challenges That Could Slow Your Development & How to Avoid Them

One of the best ways to stay on-schedule is to start with a solid understanding of the most common API challenges. Awareness will help you choose a development partner with the ability to solve issues before they affect your timeline.

Whitepaper: Rapid BYOD Build Timelines

This white paper covers a Phase III case study; BYOD advantages and misconceptions; and regulatory, copyright, and equivalency considerations.

Whitepaper: Characterizing Drug Substance Properties Early Can Optimize Drug Product Formulation

Anticipate early development challenges to avoid rework and costs.

Article: Strategies to address the viral vector manufacturing shortage

Accelerating the production of viral-vector based therapy requires both understanding of strategies to address viral vector manufacturing and how to select the most cost-effective solution for your therapeutic. Read more in this article.

Get insights into healthcare decision-makers networks.

Whitepaper: Gene and Cell Therapy: Planning for Manufacturing Success Early

Gene and cell therapy organizations are asked to balance the need for rapid clinical progression and stringent quality expectations throughout development. In this document, Aldevron provides an in-depth look at preparing for plasmid manufacturing based on our years of experience.

Whitepaper: Companies Need An Effective Remote Workforce Cloud Strategy To Survive

A sound Cloud Strategy provides the flexibility and tools businesses need to quickly adapt and operate securely in an ever-changing remote work environment. Learn how your company can cost-effectively empower its employees to be productive and secure while working remotely.

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.

Q&A: Planning Successful Launches

Learn about proven strategies for a successful product launch, including cross-functional team collaboration, risk management and using the right project management tools.

eBook: CMC Considerations for Successful Early Drug Development

This eBook provides insights on key approaches and considerations for preparing your drug development program for long-term success.

Webinar: Phase Appropriate Expertise and Technologies to Accelerate Product Development to Commercialization

In this webinar, pharmaceutical scientists present real-life examples of challenges they’ve overcome in the transfer of oral small molecules from a dedicated early-phase development site to a dedicated late-phase manufacturing site.

Whitepaper: How to Achieve Time and Cost Reductions in Clinical Trial Design and Build

Learn how to save time and reduce costs and complexity by streamlining the clinical trial process.

Whitepaper: Why Your Business Needs a Ransomware Strategy To Avoid Being Hacked!

Cybercriminals Are Actively Exploiting The Coronavirus Pandemic To Gain Entry To Enterprise Networks. Don’t Let Your Company Become The Next Ransomware Headline -- Make These Changes Now!

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.

Executive Summary: Keys to a Successful Rapid Commercial Launch

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are spending years developing drugs or promising new biologics, all with the hopes of saving or enhancing patients’ lives. It’s a “race to the finish” in some cases, and the quicker a company can get its product to patients, the better.

Whitepaper: The Art of Recognizing Clinical Supply Risk Factors

In a BioPharma Dive industry survey, planning and forecasting were identified as top concerns for trial sponsors. In response to this need, the CSM team at Catalent has developed a methodology for identifying, evaluating, and proactively managing the inherent risks involved in clinical trial supply chain management.

Case Study: Establishing Parameters for Success

Learn about a real-world example of how clinical supply management expertise was applied to overcome inventory challenges for a complex, global study.

Fact Sheet: Forecasting to Optimize Clinical Trial Supply Management

Whether a study is simple or highly complex, forecasting and simulation reports serve as data driven communication tools to help minimize risks and keep the study on track. Learn more about forecasting solutions for informed decision making and supporting contingency planning for clinical study.

eBook: Expecting the Unexpected: Strategies for Efficient Clinical Supply Management and Forecasting

Learn how to drive excellence within the forecasting process and utilize forecasting throughout the clinical study to better plan clinical supply budgets and project timelines. Explore how to identify potential supply-related issues before they can negatively impact your study.

Events