Drug Development
The mid-stage disappointment in Alzheimer’s disease delivers another blow to Neuphoria Therapeutics, which in November last year was forced to launch a strategic business review after a Phase 3 trial in social anxiety disorder failed.
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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.
The FDA plans to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss Capricor Therapeutics’ application for deramiocel, which the agency rejected last July. The news surprised CEO Linda Marbán, who told BioSpace the FDA has not communicated any issues of concern with the company’s resubmitted application.
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While expressing disappointment, William Blair analysts were unsurprised by the Phase II failure, having assigned the VISTA study a high level of risk given the “mixed” performance of a similar drug in a prior multiple sclerosis study.
The CRO market in the APAC region is thriving, particularly in China, due to intense clinical trial and innovation development, with Western investors and pharma leaning in.
Merck has made a $9.2 billion play for Cidara, and there’s another bidding war afoot, this one for sleep biotech Avadel. Meanwhile, Rick Pazdur has taken the helm at CDER while tensions run high between FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health Secretary RFK Jr.
Winrevair yielded significant and meaningful clinical benefits for patients with combined post- and precapillary pulmonary hypertension, an indication that, according to BMO Capital Markets, has few treatment options.
With positive data from the Phase III HERIZON-GEA-01 study, Zymeworks and Jazz Pharmaceuticals will file an approval application for Ziihera in the first half of 2026 for the treatment of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson will continue to test the asset in stroke and atrial fibrillation.
Gilead’s investigational drug combo bic/len could help lower the pill burden in patients with virologically suppressed HIV who are on complex treatment regimens, according to BMO Capital Markets.
Through substantial leadership turnover and workforce cuts, the FDA has continued to support the advanced therapy sector, actively working to remove obstacles to innovation.
Korro Bio is moving back to square one as a preclinical biotech after the failure of KRRO-110 in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The company’s stock is down 80% on all the news.
The decision to pause dapiglutide will help Zealand focus investment into assets that have “the greatest potential for clinical differentiation” in obesity.