Clinical research
The first two weeks of October saw BMS’s $4.8 billion buyout of Mirati, Lilly’s $1.4 billion purchase of Point, Kyowa Kirin’s $387 million acquisition of Orchard and AbbVie’s $110 million Mitokinin deal.
The regulator’s approval of oral, once-daily etrasimod, to be marketed as Velsipity, was based on favorable Phase III safety and efficacy data showing significant clinical remission of ulcerative colitis.
Last year, the FDA declined to approve a drug that appears to reverse a rare and debilitating enzyme deficiency. Some experts say it’s emblematic of a need for more flexibility around therapeutics targeting rare diseases.
The biotech will pause its lirafugratinib program for a rare bile duct cancer to target a larger FGFR2-altered solid tumors population, citing the Inflation Reduction Act as a driving decision factor.
The FDA is gearing up for six decisions in the next two weeks, two of which involve highly anticipated medicines for rare diseases.
Shares of Akero Therapeutics took a hit after the company missed the primary endpoint in a Phase IIb study of efruxifermin in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
More than 54% of patients treated with mirikizumab achieved clinical remission at 52 weeks versus 19.6% of those on placebo. Eli Lilly will submit a marketing application in Crohn’s disease to the FDA in 2024.
In a Phase Ib/II study, Tempest Therapeutics’ investigational PPAR⍺ antagonist—combined with Roche’s Avastin and Tecentriq—showed strong signs of survival benefits in liver cancer patients.
The subcutaneous version of its blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug notched a victory in a key late-stage study. Roche will submit the OCARINA II data to global health authorities in the coming months.
Following the recommendations of an independent Data Monitoring Committee, Novo Nordisk has halted a Phase III kidney outcomes study of semaglutide ahead of schedule due to strong efficacy signals.
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