News and Trends 20 Dec 2017 Actelion Spin Out and Roche Join Forces to Develop Cancer Immunotherapies Idorsia and Roche have agreed on a research collaboration, with the big pharma getting exclusive rights to develop and license resultant cancer immunotherapy drugs. Idorsia was formed out of J&J’s acquisition of Actelion for €27.9B at the beginning of the year. The spin out, led by Jean-Paul and Martine Clozel, kept hold of Actelion’s drug discovery and early […] December 20, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Alex Dale Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Dec 2017 Dutch and US Biotechs Team Up Against HPV-related Cancer ISA Pharmaceuticals will work together with Regeneron to combine its immunotherapy against cancer induced by HPV infection with its partner’s PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is known for its ability to cause cancer, including cervical and head and neck cancer. Based in Leiden, the Netherlands, ISA Pharmaceuticals’ target choice is type 16 HPV, which […] December 18, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Dec 2017 Off-the-Shelf CAR-T Cells Struggle to Improve Cancer Treatment Data presented at ASH 2017 shows that Servier and Pfizer’s UCART19, an allogeneic CAR-T therapy originally developed by Cellectis, might struggle to outperform autologous CAR-T cells. CAR-T cell therapy has proved to be effective at treating cancer in patients for whom scarce hope was left. Yet pricing is still a big concern. Companies like Cellectis are trying […] December 13, 2017 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Dec 2017 Immunotherapy for Uveal Melanoma is on Track for Early Access in the UK The UK grants Immunocore access to a fast-track scheme that will make its immunotherapy IMCgp100 available to patients with uveal melanoma before approval. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has deemed Immunocore’s technology worth being used by patients before it’s approved. The regulatory agency has granted Promising Innovative Medicines (PIM) designation to IMCgp100 for […] December 12, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Nov 2017 Merck and Pfizer’s Checkpoint Inhibitor Fails to Treat Gastric Cancer Avelumab, marketed as Bavencio by Pfizer and Merck, has failed to show better efficacy than chemotherapy in a Phase III trial with gastric cancer patients. Merck (the German one) and Pfizer joined the checkpoint inhibitor club earlier this year with the approval of Bavencio (avelumab) in both the US and Europe. Looking to keep expanding the […] November 29, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Nov 2017 One Mouse with All-Human Antibodies Monoclonal antibodies have long been the focus of research surrounding drug development against inflammatory diseases and cancer. For decades, researchers have had to travel along a strenuous path to get to where we are now. After monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were discovered in the first half of the 20th century, researchers quickly understood that animals, such […] November 29, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Nov 2017 Update: Belgian Biotech Starts Human Trials for a Potential Type 1 Diabetes Cure Update (15/11/2017): Imcyse has officially started recruiting patients to test its therapy for type 1 diabetes. The clinical trial will recruit up to 40 patients across 15 European centers, and the first patient has already enrolled at the Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen. Originally published on 30/05/2017 Imcyse will run its first clinical trial testing […] November 15, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Nov 2017 This British Biotech Could Treat T-Cell Lymphoma without Leaving the Body Unprotected Autolus has revealed a new strategy to treat T-cell lymphoma without harming healthy, protective T cells. The therapy is expected to start human tests soon. T-cell lymphoma is a form of cancer that affects the cells responsible for protecting our body against infections. Unlike it’s done with cancer types that affect other blood cells, it’s […] November 14, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Nov 2017 British Biotech Gets a £2.5M Grant to Boost Cancer Immunotherapy Tusk Therapeutics is working on immunotherapies to ignite the immune system against cancer. The £2.5M grant will help it to accelerate their development. Tusk Therapeutics focuses on immuno-oncology to ‘harness the power’ of the immune system. One of its candidates is an antibody that targets the CD38 immune checkpoint, which is a marker of cell activation that […] November 14, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Alex Dale Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Nov 2017 Biotech Unicorn’s T-Cell Receptor Therapy “Nearly Doubles” Survival in Uveal Melanoma Immunocore, one of the only three European biotech unicorns, has presented Phase I results for its TCR immunotherapy IMCgp100 in patients suffering from metastatic uveal melanoma. Results are positive, but perhaps not to the level of expectation for a company with such a high valuation. On Saturday, Immunocore presented its latest clinical results at the Society […] November 13, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 26 Oct 2017 Meet John Beadle, the Serial Entrepreneur with the Key to Oncolytic Viruses Serial entrepreneur John Beadle is now at the helm of PsiOxus, an Oxford biotech with some promising virus-based cancer treatments. Oncolytic viruses have been around for a while without much to show for themselves besides Amgen’s Imlygic, but PsiOxus, one of our top Oxford biotechs, has some ideas to make them bear fruit. The company […] October 26, 2017 - 8 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Oct 2017 The FDA Approves a Second CAR-T Therapy, Cheaper than Novartis’ Gilead’s CAR-T cell therapy Yescarta has been approved by the FDA, making it the first competitor for Novartis’ CAR-T Kymriah. Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel, or axi-cel for short) has become the second CAR-T therapy to be approved in the US. The FDA has authorized its use to treat aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in patients for whom at least two […] October 19, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email