Cancer
This week’s release of the Make America Health Again report revealed continued emphasis on vaccine safety; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s faceoff with senators last week amounted to political theater; the FDA promises complete response letters in real time and shares details on a new rare disease framework; and Summit disappoints at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona.
Truist Securities called pumitamig’s data on Monday “very reassuring,” given the consistency between its performance in Chinese and global patient populations.
Ivonescimab elicited better overall survival in Asian patients with non-small cell lung cancer than in those from North America and European countries, in Western countries narrowly missing the statistical significance threshold the FDA is seeking.
According to analysts, the new data could present a path to accelerated approval for ifinatamab deruxtecan, a product of Merck and Daiichi Sankyo’s troubled ADC partnership.
Some of the biggest SPACs from the industry’s pandemic-fueled heyday are no longer on the market.
The French giant is gaining access to darovasertib, a small molecule protein kinase C inhibitor already in Phase II/III trials, with rights for the whole world besides the U.S.
Exelixis is looking at the possibility of relocating some of the eliminated Pennsylvania roles to its headquarters in Alameda, California, according to a company spokesperson.
Krystal Biotech’s decision follows the FDA’s rejection last month of Replimune’s RP1, which works similarly to Krystal Biotech’s KB707. The biotech said this has introduced “heightened uncertainty” regarding a potential accelerated pathway for the candidate.
The FDA recommends that companies use overall survival as a primary endpoint for clinical trials where feasible. The new guidance follows the surprising return of CBER Head Vinay Prasad, who has previously argued for prioritizing OS.
The platform strategy of using one molecule to target an underlying biological pathway to address many different diseases can be a goldmine for smaller companies. But it also has a unique set of challenges.
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