Drug Development

Venture funds attending the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference said mounting funding pressures and Chinese competition have sharpened their focus on leadership qualities, from regulatory expertise and industry experience to the ability to scale—or step aside—as companies mature.
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After years stuck in the “doldrums,” the biopharma sector is in a “very good place” heading into the new year, analysts told BioSpace, with both rare and chronic diseases headlining investor and R&D interest as JPM26 kicks off.
Recent breakthroughs and three decades of progress in treating Huntington’s disease
Next-generation automation is closing the gap between curative science and real-world demand, enabling faster development, global consistency and broader patient access to CAR T therapies.
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Topline data for the company’s CRF1 antagonist crinecerfont showed a significant drop in daily glucocorticoid dose, while maintaining androgen control in adult patients with the genetic disorder.
The agency’s briefing document found Phase III results investigating patisiran’s effects versus placebo were “small, of questionable clinical meaningfulness, and may not be detectable by patients.”
Following a $540 million IPO in May, Acelyrin’s lead candidate izokibep failed to meet the primary endpoint in a Phase IIb/III study of patients with the chronic inflammatory skin condition.
FDA
The regulator Monday approved the companies’ supplemental Biologics License Applications for their respective mRNA shots formulated to more closely target currently circulating variants.
The California pharma is building up to its first-ever approval with promising late-stage data for its once-daily investigational acromegaly pill paltusotine, an alternative to the injectable standard of care.
The first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate—in combination with Merck’s Keytruda—has shown promising results in a Phase II study of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
With a potential combined market value of $30 billion, BioSpace takes a deep dive into the Phase III data supporting Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s investigational donanemab.
Analysts said CymaBay’s seladelpar is emerging as the “therapy of choice in the second-line setting” and “could impact the treatment landscape” across a spectrum of primary biliary cholangitis patients.
After a three-month delay, GSK expects an FDA verdict for its myelofibrosis candidate, while Alnylam gears up for an advisory committee meeting discussing patisiran in cardiomyopathy of ATTR amyloidosis.
A thorough reassessment of the confounders between FibroGen’s trials is necessary to salvage the company’s Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy program and regain investor confidence.