Cell and gene therapy companies continue moving away from traditional treatment modalities into a future that’s often unclear. A panel of CEOs said at the Biotech Showcase in San Francisco that, instead of aiming for developing silver bullet therapies that knock out indications in a single blow, they tend to only be able to take incremental steps in development.
The 2024 edition of Clarivate’s Drugs to Watch features 13 drugs that highlight an inflection point where amazing, merging tech is finally paying off with ADCs and CRISPR/Cas9 and bispecifics, Matthew Arnold, principal analyst, Clarivate Life Sciences and Healthcare, told BioWorld.
The 2024 edition of Clarivate’s Drugs to Watch features 13 drugs that highlight an inflection point where amazing, merging tech is finally paying off with ADCs and CRISPR/Cas9 and bispecifics, Matthew Arnold, principal analyst, Clarivate Life Sciences and Healthcare, told BioWorld.
The digital ink is barely dry from Jan. 3’s $1 billion ADC deal with Medilink Therapeutics Co. Ltd. and another $1 billion agreement, this one with Remix Therapeutics Inc., but Roche Holding AG is writing another big check. The newest addition to its billion-dollar collaboration spree is with privately held Moma Therapeutics Inc.
Anavex Life Sciences Corp.’s stock (NASDAQ:AVXL) sunk 35% on Jan. 2 after a phase II/III study failure in Rett syndrome but posted a next-day rebound of 8% on Jan. 3 with shares closing at $6.53 each. Top-line data from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the company’s lead asset, Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine), showed improvement but did not reach statistical significance on the co-primary endpoint, the Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire.
The spate of recent deals involving antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) continues in a field composed of record-breaking agreements in 2023. The newest of the deals were focused on Asia. GSK plc entered a license deal for the exclusive rights for clinical development and commercialization of Hansoh Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s B7-H3-targeted ADC, HS-20093. Also, South Korea’s Dong-A ST Co. Ltd. is expanding into the ADC space by acquiring Abtis Co. Ltd. and its Abclick platform for ADC drug development.
Allorion Therapeutics Inc. could receive $40 million in up-front and near-term payments from Astrazeneca plc in the companies’ exclusive option and global license deal. The two plan to develop and commercialize an L858R mutated allosteric inhibitor for treating EGFR inhibitor-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer.
Cytokinetics Inc. received a slightly last minute Christmas gift in the form of positive top-line data from the pivotal phase III study of aficamten in treating symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
The spate of recent deals involving antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) continues in a field composed of record-breaking agreements in 2023. The newest of the deals were focused on Asia. GSK plc entered a license deal for the exclusive rights for clinical development and commercialization of Hansoh Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s B7-H3-targeted ADC, HS-20093. Also, South Korea’s Dong-A ST Co. Ltd. is expanding into the ADC space by acquiring Abtis Co. Ltd. and its Abclick platform for ADC drug development.
Compugen Ltd. has entered another collaboration, this time exclusively licensing a preclinical antibody program against an IL-18 binding protein with Gilead Sciences Inc. Compugen will handle ongoing preclinical development and a phase I study of COM-503 to treat tumors, then Gilead receives to sole right to further continue developing the asset. Compugen is getting an up-front $60 million and is eligible for a $30 million milestone payment should the IND clear in 2024. Compugen also is eligible for $758 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestones, putting the deal value at $848 million.
