Beam back in off-the-shelf CAR-T race

Today's Big News

Dec 2, 2022

Mirati's sitravatinib yet to improve survival at interim phase 3 cancer review, pushing back approval plan


No surprises for Y-mAbs as FDA rejects rare pediatric cancer drug after AdComm savaging


Beam jumps back into off-the-shelf CAR-T race after FDA lifts clinical hold


'Not convincing enough': Theratechnologies halts lead cancer trial over efficacy concerns


Roche thins Alzheimer’s program after phase 3 failure, may seek ‘external partnerships’


Vaxxinity will push for approval of COVID booster despite failing to beat Pfizer's competitor


Chutes & Ladders—Teva snags new CEO in mere weeks

 

Featured

Mirati's sitravatinib yet to improve survival at interim phase 3 cancer review, pushing back approval plan

Mirati Therapeutics is going to have to wait a bit longer to learn if sitravatinib works. Having touted an interim phase 3 review as an event that could support full approval, the biotech has learned that the lung cancer study will continue to its final analysis.
 

Top Stories

No surprises for Y-mAbs as FDA rejects rare pediatric cancer drug after AdComm savaging

The FDA has killed off Y-mAbs Therapeutics’ slim hopes of winning approval for 131I-omburtamab at the first time of asking. Weeks after its advisory committee roundly rejected the candidate, the agency has hit YmAbs with a complete response letter and discussed the need for an adequate and well-controlled trial of the rare pediatric cancer drug.

Beam jumps back into off-the-shelf CAR-T race after FDA lifts clinical hold

Four months after the FDA slapped a clinical hold on Beam Therapeutics’ phase 1 ready off-the-shelf CAR-T, the biotech is now free to proceed.

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.

'Not convincing enough': Theratechnologies halts lead cancer trial over efficacy concerns

Theratechnologies has pumped the brakes on a phase 1 trial of its lead cancer asset after a glimpse at the data raised efficacy concerns.

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.

Roche thins Alzheimer’s program after phase 3 failure, may seek ‘external partnerships’

Roche’s Genentech unit is walking away from a clutch of studies for its leading Alzheimer’s therapy gantenerumab, weeks after the monoclonal antibody failed a pair of phase 3 studies.

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).

Vaxxinity will push for approval of COVID booster despite failing to beat Pfizer's competitor

Vaxxinity’s next-gen COVID-19 booster candidate has hit its safety targets in a head-to-head trial against Pfizer-BioNTech’s, AstraZeneca’s and Sinopharm’s vaccines. The biotech plans to push ahead for approval in several countries, despite mixed efficacy results against its competitors.

Chutes & Ladders—Teva snags new CEO in mere weeks

After only a few weeks of searching for a new CEO, generics mammoth Teva Pharmaceuticals has ended its mission to replace current top exec Kåre Schultz.

Fierce Pharma Asia—Eisai's lecanemab Alzheimer's debate; BeiGene's Imbruvica showdown; Shionogi's COVID drug nod

Eisai's detailed lecanemab data in Alzheimer's disease were clouded by safety questions. BeiGene's Brukinsa hands down an all-around win against AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson's Imbruvica in a head-to-head trial. Shionogi has finally snagged the first approval for its oral COVID-19 drug, now called Xocova. And more.

Gilead gets a leg up in dueling Truvada patent feuds with feds

In a late November court decision unsealed Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims sided with Gilead’s argument that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention broke certain agreements with the company around its HIV drug for preexposure prophylaxis. The win could bode well for a separate patent case where the U.S. government is seeking more than $1 billion in damages from Gilead.

Senators to Medicare Advantage plans: Get your provider directories in order

The Senate Finance Committee released a discussion draft outlining new ways to improve mental health pay parity as part of a larger package.

ViiV Healthcare finds stigma still stubbornly high as it launches new bid to help end HIV in the US

ViiV Healthcare has found that global stigma attached to HIV patients remains woefully strong in a new survey.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'The Top Line': The initial reactions to Biogen's new CEO, plus this week's headlines

This week on “The Top Line,” we discuss the current state of Biogen and recent investor reactions to the new hire. Plus we cover the week's news including: What Albert Bourla said that has him in hot water, a $3.5 million drug, and we tease a possible major acquisition. 
 

Resources

Video

Discover the future of mAb manufacturing

Revolutionize your monoclonal antibody (mAb) manufacturing with expert insights.
Whitepaper

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.
Whitepaper

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.

Whitepaper

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.

Whitepaper

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?
Whitepaper

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.

Whitepaper

Intranasal Drug Product Development: Formulation to Manufacturing

What are key considerations for intranasal delivery in the treatment of acute and chronic conditions?
Whitepaper

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.
Whitepaper

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.
Whitepaper

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.

 

Industry Events

 

Upcoming Fierce Events

10
Jan
San Francisco, CA
17-19
Jan
Virtual Event
27-28
Feb
Arlington, VA
14-15
Mar
San Francisco, CA
20-22
Mar
West Palm Beach, FL

View all events