Drug Development

FEATURED STORIES
IPO
After debuting on the public markets with $256.3 million and raking in an additional $472 million, Veradermics has emerged as one of biotech’s biggest post-IPO standouts. CEO Reid Waldman credits the weight loss craze for establishing consumer-driven channels.
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.
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The regulator’s new draft guidance, released on Monday, provides additional details regarding the use of surrogate and biomarker endpoints to support accelerated approvals.
In Monday’s neurology update for investors, Roche touted data from a small Ib/IIa trial for trontinemab, an investigational therapy for Alzheimer’s disease which demonstrated “rapid and robust” amyloid plaque reduction.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals is terminating development of its antipsychotic drug pimavanserin, which did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement over placebo in the late-stage study’s primary endpoint.
Incyte’s povorcitinib met both primary and secondary endpoints to relieve itching and improve skin clearance by 16 weeks, suggesting efficacy that is competitive with Sanofi and Regeneron’s blockbuster Dupixent.
Boehringer Ingelheim has paid $27.3 million upfront to Sosei Heptares to develop a small molecule agonist of GPR52 to treat the positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.
With Monday’s FDA rejection of their long-acting glatiramer acetate formulation, Viatris and Mapi Pharma continue the biopharma industry’s recent losing streak in multiple sclerosis.
Early Phase IIb data from 66 patients showed Novartis’ BTK inhibitor remibrutinib has potential outside chronic spontaneous urticaria, leading to symptomatic relief in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.
Fresh off its $259 million Series C funding round, Alumis unveiled mid-stage data Saturday for its TYK2 inhibitor ESK-001 demonstrating strong symptomatic improvement in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
Johnson & Johnson’s Protagonist-partnered oral psoriasis candidate was able to sustain its therapeutic benefit through one year, according to data presented on Saturday at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting.
FDA
Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy was approved on Friday by the FDA to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke in adults who have cardiovascular disease and are obese or overweight.