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In this episode of Denatured, you’ll be hearing from Georg Vo Beiske, CEO of Tribune Therapeutics and Jonas Hallén, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Calluna Pharma. We dive into IPF and fibrosis challenges, unpacking treatment hurdles, emerging targets, unmet needs and expansion paths beyond the lung.
FEATURED STORIES
In Salt Lake City, biotech founders new and seasoned reflect on ways to ride out the industry’s challenges, such as sending cold emails to investors and learning to address leadership weaknesses.
ALS
Biogen’s Qalsody won FDA approval in 2023 to treat a rare, genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. On Tuesday, QurAlis presented interim Phase 2 data showing the potential of a similar drug to more broadly treat the neurodegenerative disease.
As Q1 earnings arrive, three biotechs have big quarters ahead, with two—Amylyx and Neumora Therapeutics—betting at least partly on novel assets for obesity.
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THE LATEST
While a prolonged, 15-day regimen of Paxlovid is safe, it appears to be ineffective at lowering the symptoms of long COVID, according to results of a Phase II trial funded by Pfizer and conducted by Stanford Medicine.
FDA
The FDA on Friday approved GSK’s application to use Arexvy to vaccinate adults aged 50 to 59 years who are at increased risk of developing severe respiratory syncytial virus.
Biomea Fusion’s early-stage investigational diabetes treatment BMF-291 has been slapped with a full FDA clinical hold on its Phase I/II trials due to concerns over liver toxicity.
FDA
Approved for patients with low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, Geron’s Rytelo is the first telomerase inhibitor to hit the market and the company’s first approved drug after 34 years in business.
The companies announced Friday that their candidate survodutide, which is licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim from Zealand Pharma, improved fibrosis in more than 50% of treated patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
After rejecting a previous takeover offer from Future Pak, Vanda Pharmaceuticals is now fielding another acquisition proposal from Cycle Pharmaceuticals, which values the biotech at $8 per share.
AbbVie’s antibody-drug conjugate Elahere, developed by ImmunoGen, elicited a nearly 52% objective response rate in heavily pretreated patients with folate receptor-alpha-positive, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.
In advance of an advisory committee meeting on Monday, the FDA’s internal reviewers have raised issues regarding Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s disease candidate donanemab, flagging problems with its study design and safety outcomes.
Both Eli Lilly and the partnered companies Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma have mid-stage data readouts this week, fueling the race in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
Zealand Pharma said on Thursday that partner Boehringer Ingelheim will present the results from the study on Friday at the European Association of the Study of Liver Congress.