Drug Development
The obesity market and Most Favored Nation drug pricing were among the topics de jour at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference last week, while smaller biotechs sought to assure investors that their regulatory ducks are in a row; Novo Nordisk’s oral obesity pill got off to a hot start while the FDA delayed a decision on Eli Lilly’s investigational offering; and SpyGlass Pharma and AgomAb Therapeutics join the 2026 IPO club.
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Three years after the accelerated approval of its anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s therapy, Biogen—neck and neck in the market with Eli Lilly and its Kisunla offering—is focused on a near-term FDA decision for a subcutaneous induction dose of Leqembi, a presymptomatic readout in 2028 and a clutch of next-generation candidates.
BMO analysts say Eli Lilly is well-positioned to maintain its lead in the ballooning weight loss space, predicting “strengthening leadership in obesity and beyond” as portfolios expand and patient access improves.
Facing the loss of exclusivity on key products, Pfizer has pulled forward its lead obesity asset into Phase III and targeted a 2028 launch. CEO Albert Bourla explained the pharma’s strategy at J.P. Morgan on Monday.
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Eisai and Biogen’s BLA for lecanemab for Alzheimer’s disease received FDA Priority Review with a target action date of January 6, 2023, while Roche’s lymphoma drug scored the same designation.
CureVac has filed a lawsuit against BioNTech and two of its subsidiaries for allegedly infringing on its intellectual property rights over mRNA technology used in the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Phase II study, conducted in the Netherlands, evaluated the single-dose ANEB-001 in treating healthy participants affected by THC. Anebulo plans to file an IND with the FDA by the end of 2022.
The FDA lifted the clinical hold on Dyne Therapeutics’ clinical study of DYNE-251 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients amenable to skipping exon 51. A Phase I/II trial is expected by mid-year.
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be under control, it’s clear that it’s not over, with the rise of more subvariants. Read on for more details.
Seagen announced positive data from its Phase II trial in colorectal cancer, and the FDA provided positive feedback supporting a Phase IIIb trial for ANeuroTech’s MDD drug.
The FDA lifted its clinical hold on Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Phase I/II clinical trial of VX-880, a pancreatic islet cell replacement therapy for people with Type I Diabetes (TID).
BioSpace connected with Theodore Laetsch, M.D., lead investigator of the pediatric larotrectinib trial (SCOUT), to gain more insight into the drug, the trial and how patients’ lives are being affected.
Quris has developed an alternative to testing on animal models, and each one is smaller than the head of a pin. It holds the potential to increase the currently terrible odds in drug development.
Otsuka and Lunbeck report positive Phase III results in agitation in Alzheimer’s, Acer’s vEDS program hits Phase III and BridgeBio’s primary hyperoxaluria type 1 program progresses.