News and Trends 18 Oct 2016 Shire’s leading Pancreatic Cancer drug is Back with a Bang Pancreatic cancer is one of the nastiest kinds and most difficult to treat; the EMA has granted marketing authorization to Onivyde in the fight against it. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of death in Europe, and it represents a dramatically underserved need. Metastatic adenocarcinoma is almost always fatal, as it cannot be removed surgically […] October 18, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Oct 2016 €4M Grant for a Cancer Vaccine that could Bench its Competitors Hookipa just secured a huge grant from the Austrian government. The plan is to develop the strongest HPV vaccine ever and claim its place in the €2B head and neck cancer market. Hookipa, one of the hottest Biotechs in Vienna, develops vaccines based on a new class of viral vectors. Its platform has impressed the public sector and secured €4.16M from the Austrian […] October 18, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Oct 2016 It’s not over yet for Opdivo; AbbVie takes a stand in Leukemia The Committee on Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has handed down a pair of positive opinions of Opdivo and AbbVie’s leukemia therapy in their quests for EMA approval. Before the European Commission reviews an application for market authorization, it crosses the collective desk of the Committee on Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). If […] October 17, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Oct 2016 Adaptimmune Revises TCR Protocol following Phase I/IIa Failure Shares of Adaptimmune slid 12% yesterday morning after the company updated its TCR therapy to include fludarabine, which was linked to deaths in Juno’s CAR-T trials. Despite optimism that T-cells are the key to cancer cures, the field has taken a number of hits this year. Most recently, the FDA put a partial hold on […] October 13, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Oct 2016 Transgene teams up with big Players against HPV Head and Neck Cancer Transgene is partnering with Merck and Pfizer to develop a combined therapy for head and neck cancer squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) caused by human papiloma virus (HPV) infections. A successful outcome will let the team access a €2B market niche. Transgene has been struggling for a while: last year it had to fire 40% of its workforce […] October 12, 2016 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Oct 2016 Will Aprea live up to the Hype of its €46M fundraising? Aprea raised a huge €46M for a first-in-class drug that targets the deadliest form of ovarian cancer. The company just started Phase II trials after positive results from Phase I. But will it be able to outperform all its competitors? Aprea is a spin-out company from the Karolinska Development, the portfolio company of the Institute, in Sweden. It became […] October 12, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Oct 2016 UK Upstart to sign Huge Deal with Takeda in End Run around Antibody Therapies Crescendo Biologics, a small UK-based startup, has made an almost €1B deal with Japanese giant Takeda for its Humabody technology. Crescendo Biologics may seem like a small fish, but it has caught the attention of a host of blue-chip investors like Sofinnova Partners. Its Humabody platform has recently attracted the Japanese pharmaceutical giant, Takeda, whose subsidiary, […] October 11, 2016 - 3 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Oct 2016 Big Pharmas Battle to be the Lung Cancer Leader at ESMO Merck, Roche and BMS have unveiled updated results in Copenhagen as the companies duke it out for the leadership in lung cancer therapies. The conference of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) is underway in Copenhagen, and big pharma’s efforts to cure lung cancer are stealing the show. Three titans, Roche (Genentech), Merck and […] October 10, 2016 - 3 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Oct 2016 Overseas Deaths in the Clinic come as a Blow to Boehringer Ingelheim Boehringer Ingelheim has swiftly dumped its olmutinib collaboration with Hanmi following news of deaths in South Korean Phase II trials. An investigation by the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has linked several deaths to olmutinib, a lung cancer drug launched by Hanmi. Sound familiar? Boehringer Ingelheim just signed a deal to acquire the […] October 10, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Oct 2016 New UK Hero Will Fight Against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Achilles Therapeutics was born yesterday in the UK with a €15M funding round. The company will focus on the development of personalized neo-antigentherapies for non-small lung cancer. The newborn Achilles Therapeutics made its debut yesterday with a splashy fundraising round and a licensing agreement. The startup has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize any neo-antigen technology that […] October 6, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Oct 2016 A new Immuno-Oncology biotech’s Small Molecule hits the Clinic Since we interviewed Karus Therapeutics last year, the company has come quite a way! The Oxford-based biotech has just sent its first drug to the clinic. We first met Karus Therapeutics a year ago to talk about their small molecule therapies for cancer and inflammatory disease. The company has entered the immuno-oncology fray and is developing a […] October 6, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Oct 2016 €365M deal for a Danish ‘DNA barcode’ Drug Screening Platform The giant Amgen has offered Nuevolution €365M to develop oncology and neuroscience drugs. The small Danish Biotech claims to count with an unprecedented drug discovery platform that can screen billions of compounds way faster and at a lower cost than the big players. Despite its small size, Nuevolution is experienced in collaborating with big Pharma like Merck, Novartis, […] October 5, 2016 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email