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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

ASH: J&J, Legend's anti-BCMA CAR-T keeps it consistent in phase 2 as FDA filing looms

Bristol Myers Squibb and bluebird bio were first to file an anti-BCMA CAR-T for approval, but Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech are hot on their heels. The companies unveiled the first phase 2 data for their prospect, which banished multiple myeloma in two-thirds of patients and shrank tumors in 97% of patients.

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Top Stories

AbCellera, tapped by Lilly for its COVID-19 antibody therapy, sets IPO terms with $5B valuation

Canada’s speedy R&D engine AbCellera, now world-renowned for its tech producing the Eli Lilly COVID-19 drug authorized by the FDA, has set terms for a monster IPO.

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After boosting gene therapy focus, Bayer signs up to new cell therapy pact with Atara

German pharma Bayer is moving into cell therapy R&D with its latest pact focusing on tough-to-treat lung cancers with Atara Biotherapeutics.

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Sponsored: From Conquering COVID-19 to Curing Cancer, New York City Charts the Future of Life Sciences

The life sciences sector in New York City is on pace to raise $1B in venture funding in 2020, up from just $40 million ten years ago. In addition to NYC’s outstanding talent and funding, the city is rich with life science real estate offerings across the five boroughs.

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ASH: Regeneron's bispecific banishes lymphoma—even in patients failed by CAR-T

CAR-T therapies have been a game changer in certain blood cancers, but they aren't a complete solution. For starters, not all patients can get CAR-T treatment, while others see their cancer worsen despite receiving it. But Regeneron’s bispecific antibody could be a new option for those patients. The drug beat cancer back in two kinds of lymphoma in a phase 1 study.

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Sponsored: Biotech IPOs: Navigating the New Landscape

Biotech IPO markets are booming. But even in a boom, identifying the right time to go public and telling your post-IPO story for how capital deployment translates to value for investors is critical.

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Not so fast, ALX: FDA pumps the brakes on cancer hopeful 10 months after fast-tracking it

The FDA granted ALX Oncology’s head and neck cancer program a fast-track tag in February, but, now, it’s telling the company to hold its horses. The agency placed a partial clinical hold on the program, allowing it to enroll a maximum of 50 patients across two pivotal trials while it wraps up a nonclinical safety study.

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ASH: J&J links subcut BCMA bispecific to 73% response rate, plots aggressive investment

A subcutaneous formulation of Johnson & Johnson’s BCMAxCD3 bispecific antibody teclistamab has achieved a 73% overall response rate in a small trial of heavily pretreated multiple myeloma patients.

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Maze allies with BridgeBio and Alloy to create 2 biotechs

Maze Therapeutics has partnered to create two startups focused on cardiovascular and ophthalmic diseases. The startups will benefit from Maze’s human genetics and functional genomics platform as well as the capabilities of either Alloy Therapeutics or BridgeBio Pharma.

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ASH: Kura chalks another one up for menin inhibitors in leukemia

Adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often beat back their cancer with front-line chemotherapy, but many patients relapse and need other options. Early data out of Kura Oncology suggest menin inhibitors could be one of those options. Its drug eliminated tumors in two patients with AML that had come back after previous treatment or hadn’t responded in the first place.

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Roivant gets $200M for major push into protein degradation

Roivant Sciences has secured $200 million to advance its protein degradation ambitions. Armed with the money, Roivant CEO Vivek Ramaswamy plans to use the VantAI platform to spawn multiple new biotech startups.

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Olympus to boost respiratory portfolio with $340M acquisition of Veran Medical Technologies

Olympus’ U.S. division aims to expand its respiratory care offerings with the purchase of Veran Medical Technologies, maker of computer-guided bronchoscopes and cancer biopsy systems. The company described the $340 million acquisition as the latest in a series of deals that over the past year have aimed to focus and scale up its interventional products.

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ASH: CRISPR-edited CAR-T cells show enhanced activation against leukemia in mice

Novartis’ CAR-T cancer therapy Kymriah can induce long-term remissions in some blood cancers, but many patients either relapse or don’t respond at all. University of Pennsylvania researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 to eliminate a protein that can stifle the activation of the cancer-killing cells, greatly improving responses in mice.

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Resources

Case Study: Aerie fuels new product launches with ZS's REVO analytics platform

Learn how Aerie fueled their product launches with advanced analytics.

Whitepaper: COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trials in Children: Challenges on the Horizon

Understanding the Challenges COVID-19 Pediatric Clinical Trials Face | White Paper

Whitepaper: Enabling Fast And Appropriate Drug Product Supply for Phase 1 Clinical Trials

Lack of resources to move from lab concept to the manufacture/delivery of GMP clinical supplies to patients, key milestones can be missed.

Article: Process development and scale-up of pluripotent stem cell manufacturing

Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have huge potential to produce cell therapies for many clinical areas. Here we describe a controlled, automated, and defined manufacturing process to fuel demand.

Whitepaper: The Future of Pharmacovigilance

Download the whitepaper to learn how your safety organization can implement automation technologies to enable process and cost efficiencies, improve resource allocation and ensure compliance and quality.

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.

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.

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: 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: 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