Merck dons BigHat in new research collab

Today's Big News

Nov 29, 2022

Bristol Myers has change of heart on cardiovascular gene therapy pact, terminating uniQure deal

AstraZeneca forges deeper into cell therapies with $200M takeover of solid tumor TCR biotech

BigHat, cherry-picking opportunities amid stormy market, pens pact with Merck & Co.

Full-Life wants more, acquires New Jersey biotech in efforts to dominate radiopharmaceutical R&D

Sarepta-partnered Hansa touts new phase 2 data of one-trick pony immunological treatment

Elusive universal flu vaccine sees success in animals with mRNA tech 

Dual drug nanoparticle could curb chemo resistance 

 

Featured

Bristol Myers has change of heart on cardiovascular gene therapy pact, terminating uniQure deal

Bristol Myers Squibb is breaking off its collaboration and license agreement with uniQure, calling time on a pact that was intended to deliver gene therapies against multiple cardiovascular disease targets.
 

Top Stories

AstraZeneca forges deeper into cell therapies with $200M takeover of solid tumor TCR biotech

AstraZeneca is stepping up its pitch for a slice of the cell therapy space, paying $200 million upfront for a solid tumor player that recently hustled an autologous, fully individualized, multispecific prospect into the clinic.

BigHat, cherry-picking opportunities amid stormy market, pens pact with Merck & Co.

While other biotechs are culling staff and programs to stay afloat, BigHat Biosciences has remained dry under its ever-expanding umbrella, this time inking a multiproject deal with Merck & Co. while growing its team 30% since the summer.

Slope’s Hope Meely on the importance of a fully enabled clinical supply platform

Slope is revolutionizing the different levels of clinical trials through an all-in-one collaborative tool. Learn how Slope’s eClinical Supply Chain Management platform provides robust technology to the clinical trial space, covering all areas of supply management without losing sight of the chain of custody.

Full-Life wants more, acquires New Jersey biotech in efforts to dominate radiopharmaceutical R&D

In efforts to dominate radiopharmaceutical R&D, Full-Life Technologies is set to acquire New Jersey biotech Focus-X Therapeutics for a price tag that could max out at $245 million.

The future of Alzheimer’s disease research needs solutions that benefit trial patients

As leaders of clinical drug development, we owe it to trial patients to continuously innovate randomized control trial (RCT) designs that help to assuage fears of placebo by reducing the number of patients required to be enrolled in a control group — and to run faster trials that get answers sooner.

Sarepta-partnered Hansa touts new phase 2 data of one-trick pony immunological treatment

Hansa Biopharma says new phase 2 data of the company's one-trick-pony transplant treatment found that it beat standard of care in treating antibody-mediated resistance following a kidney transplant. The company is also testing the med prior to treatment of a couple of budding gene therapies.

Potential Modifier Gene Therapy for Degenerative Retinal Diseases

Nuclear hormone receptors are master regulators of multiple molecular pathways. When used as a modifier gene therapy they could reverse the pathological phenotypes of multiple inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs).

Elusive universal flu vaccine sees success in animals with mRNA tech

An mRNA vaccine targeting 20 different subtypes of the flu protected mice and ferrets from severe disease and death, opening a door to a universal flu vaccine.

Roche pulls another FDA accelerated approval for cancer drug Tecentriq

A week after GSK sidelined its multiple myeloma drug Blenrep, following a confirmatory trial failure, Roche has done the same for a key indication of its blockbuster cancer drug Tecentriq. Following consultation with the FDA, Roche has withdrawn Tecentriq's use as a first-line treatment for a form of advanced bladder cancer. The move is another in a growing list of accelerated approvals that have been overturned.

Almirall signs on for European clinical trial project to collect data for patients

Spanish pharma Almirall has signed on to participate in a patient-driven project to collect and reutilize clinical trial participant data for further research or in healthcare practice.

Dual drug nanoparticle could curb chemo resistance

Scientists have learned how cancer cells use a key molecule to fend themselves against chemotherapy—and have come up with a way to target it directly.

After Fosun sale rumors, Gland says it's 'not aware' of any talks—while striking its own $120M M&A play

In a bout of M&A whiplash, Bloomberg News broke the story that Chinese conglomerate Fosun was working with an adviser to weigh buyer interest in its controlling stake in Gland Pharma. But Gland, which charted its own buyout Tuesday morning, quickly surfaced on the Indian stock market to respond.

Philips unveils AI-powered platform to improve diagnoses from imaging scans

The latest version of Philips’ diagnostic imaging platform adds a handful of artificial-intelligence-powered programs that aim to hugely cut down on the time and effort it takes to turn a preliminary scan into a solid diagnosis.

More vaccinated than unvaccinated died from COVID-19 in August: analysis

Vaccinated individuals still stand a much greater chance of surviving COVID-19 than unvaccinated individuals. Still, scientists keep a wary eye on troublesome trends.
 
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'The Top Line' podcast: Pharma advertising shifts gears, Novartis taps a surprising M&A czar, plus this week's headlines

This week The Top Line discusses pharma's ad spending for 2021, an intriguing executive move at Novartis and more.
 

Resources

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Discover the future of mAb manufacturing

Revolutionize your monoclonal antibody (mAb) manufacturing with expert insights.
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Enhance the cost-effectiveness of your chemical supply chain

Learn how to develop a high-performing supply chain for GMP-manufactured chemicals used throughout your biologics workflow. Download the free whitepaper from Thermo Fisher Scientific.
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Plan for scalable process liquid and buffer preparation

Preparation of critical process liquids and buffer components shifts resources away from core activities and can be filled with inefficiencies and risks that can increase time and costs across your workflow. Learn about the framework to help reduce your total costs beyond capital and operational expenditures and set a solid foundation for successful scale-up of buffer preparation.
Webinar

Webinar: Writing the Future of Antibody Discovery Solutions

Twist Bioscience CSO Dr. Aaron Sato shares how Twist's tools for antibody discovery have been applied to identify antibodies against diverse and challenging targets. See how high-throughput DNA synthesis combined with antibody engineering expertise provides end-to-end antibody discovery solutions.

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Commercializing Gene Therapies – Supply Chain Considerations

This paper outlines how gene therapy supply chains are different from traditional biopharma products, as well as the factors that are essential to success.
Executive Summary

Scale-Up Strategies for Late-Stage Cell Therapies

Readers will learn manufacturing by Design Builds on Quality by Design, De-risking the Tech Transfer Process, and more.

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Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System to Bring Poorly Soluble Drugs to Market

How can Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System help bring poorly soluble drugs to market?
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Linear Compression vs. Parallel Processing: Speeding Biologics Through Development and Into Clinical Trials

Download this paper to learn considerations on how to move a biologic through clinical trials faster, advantages of Parallel Processing, and more.

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Intranasal Drug Product Development: Formulation to Manufacturing

What are key considerations for intranasal delivery in the treatment of acute and chronic conditions?
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Formulation Strategies When Transitioning From Vial to PFS

Learn how formulation development for a PFS affects manufacturing to drive the industry toward optimizing delivery of injectable products and, ultimately, improving patient care.
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Supply Services to Support Clinical Trials in Japan & Beyond

Explore Catalent’s newest clinical supply facility in Japan, including the comprehensive services & solutions it offers to help support trials both in-country & around the world.
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Clinical Supply Solutions for the Asia-Pacific Region

Learn how Catalent’s extensive network across APAC can meet a wide range of clinical supply needs for sponsors conducting trials within the region.
Research

A Strategy to Standardize Process Characterization & Late Phase Development

Learn more on an approach for process characterization for the production of a monoclonal antibody, which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process by targeting the right design and number of experiments.

 

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