Cancer
Doubling survival in pancreatic cancer, a long-fought rare disease approval, a massive IPO and ambitious biotech entrepreneurs have BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong feeling upbeat about the biotech scene.
An investigational cocktail was tied to a 0% overall response rate in patients with gastroesophageal cancer, but developers Agenus and MiNK Therapeutics aren’t giving up on the program just yet.
While Merck’s PD-1/VEGF asset appears to match the performance of Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab, the pharma’s Phase 1/2 readout in non-small cell lung cancer still leaves analysts with some questions moving into later-stage development.
After Replimune’s advanced melanoma drug was rejected for a second time, CEO Sushil Patel slammed the FDA for failing to exercise regulatory flexibility, while other experts bemoaned the agency’s lack of consistency. With new safety guidelines for gene editing therapies, the FDA has taken a first step toward fixing both problems.
The Merck update, which will shed light on a $588 million bet to succeed Keytruda, is part of a roster of presentations that could shape the future of ADCs, protein degraders and KRAS-targeted therapies.
After Revolution Medicines’ drug candidate doubled survival in a Phase 3 pancreatic cancer study, the biotech is hoping to attract more investor money, with new plans for a $2 billion stock and debt offering.
Eli Lilly is putting its obesity windfall to work again, striking a new deal to acquire CrossBridge Bio, a small Texas biotech known for its cancer tech.
Trastuzumab pamirtecan, being developed under a 2023 partnership between BioNTech and DualityBio, elicited a 44.1% overall response rate in a Phase 2 trial.
Pivotal findings for the off-the-shelf cell therapy surpassed William Blair’s expectations and sent Allogene Therapeutics’ stock up more than 50% in pre-market trading Monday morning.
In a difficult disease, Revolution Medicines achieved what the pancreatic cancer community has long desired: a significant improvement in survival. The Phase 3 results will support global regulatory filings.
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