Drug Development
A surprising deal from Vertex Pharmaceuticals adds to Big Pharma’s acquisitive streak as Crinetics folds into the cystic fibrosis drugmaker. Meanwhile, IPOs and venture capital raises trend upward, but mostly for derisked companies. Plus, FDA decisions slow only slightly as the hunt for a permanent leader drags on.
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Molecular glue degraders are gaining traction in the clinic as well as funding from Big Pharma, with their potential to treat previously “undruggable” cancers and immunological diseases. Here are five clinical programs worth keeping an eye on.
A recent FDA reversal sparked new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease. Flying under the radar, Skyhawk Therapeutics revealed 12-month functional data from a midstage trial of its own candidate showing improvements on a key disease measurement scale.
Recent approvals for Corcept Therapeutics and Merck have injected momentum into the space, where GSK, Allarity Therapeutics, OSE Immunotherapies and others are advancing their own candidates.
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Driven by growing market demand and an improving supply chain, the global weight-loss drug market is expected to hit $150 billion in value by the early 2030s, according to analysts cited by Reuters.
The FDA currently does not recommend using changes in lean mass as an endpoint in clinical trials for weight loss drugs. Should it?
Johnson & Johnson’s deal for Numab Therapeutics’ bispecific antibody NM26, slated to enter Phase II studies, comes on the heels of J&J’s $850 million Proteologix bispecific antibody acquisition.
The potential purchase by the Japanese conglomerate could secure access to Calliditas’ IgA nephropathy therapy Tarpeyo, which won the FDA’s full approval in December 2023.
NS Pharma, a subsidiary of Nippon Shinyaku, announced Monday that its Duchenne muscular dystrophy candidate Viltepso failed a late-stage confirmatory trial, showing no significant motor function improvements over placebo.
Flagging a risk of hypoglycemia, the FDA’s Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee on Friday did not recommend the approval of Novo Nordisk’s once-weekly insulin icodec for type 1 diabetes.
With back-to-back victories in IgA nephropathy and C3 glomerulopathy, Novartis on Saturday said it is planning to make regulatory submissions for the rare kidney diseases this year.
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s investigational antibody-drug conjugate Dato-DXd failed to significantly improve overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients versus docetaxel.
While NK cell therapies can potentially avoid the serious side effects sometimes seen with CAR T cell therapies, experts say durability may stall their path to the market.
Recent M&A activity indicates a potential resurgence in the appetites of larger companies for psychiatric drug development, but experts say the space may not offer a sufficient risk-reward proposition for R&D.