Checkpoint Inhibitors news and latest updates

News and Trends 21 Feb 2018

FDA Approves AstraZeneca’s Lung Cancer Treatment after Rejecting Merck and Pfizer’s

The FDA approval will give AstraZeneca a competitive advantage in the lung cancer treatment market over Merck KGaA & Pfizer, who received rejections for a similar treatment. AstraZeneca received FDA approval for Imfinzi in non-small cell lung cancer one day after Merck KgA and Pfizer received a rejection for competitor drug Bavencio in the same indication. Imfinzi (durvalumab) […]

February 21, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik

Interview 14 Feb 2018

This Biotech Veteran Is Using These Tips for Successful Drug Development, Here Is Why

Our second interview at Refresh in Vienna was with Peter Llewellyn-Davies, the founder of Accellerate Partners and Apeiron’s CFO and CBO. He told us how he found himself at the biotech and shared the lessons he learned on his way there. Peter Llewellyn-Davies founded Accellerate Partners in 2012, which offers services including corporate expansion, funding […]

February 14, 2018 - 5 minutesmins - By Alex Dale

News and Trends 6 Feb 2018

Spring Cleaning: AstraZeneca Ditches Underperforming Asthma and Cancer Candidates

AstraZeneca has given up on the development of its PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor drug, which was the headline act when its subsidiary MedImmune acquired Amplimmune in 2013. There was no sentiment as pharma giant AstraZeneca cut a number of drugs from its pipeline after they did not perform as expected during clinical trials. The biggest name to get […]

February 6, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale

News and Trends 30 Jan 2018

Two Biotechs Team Up to Test their Cancer Antibody Combo in the Clinic

Innate Pharma and MedImmune will test the combination of Innate’s cancer antibody and the checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab in patients with solid tumors. Innate Pharma uses antibodies to enhance the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. It has formed a clinical trial collaboration with the MedImmune, an R&D arm of AstraZeneca. The two companies will share the costs […]

January 30, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale

Infographics 10 Jan 2018

Infographic: All You Need to Know About Checkpoint Inhibitors

Everything you need to know about what checkpoint inhibitors are and why they have caused a wave of hype for cancer immunotherapies. Since the approval of the first PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, Keytruda, in 2014, there has been an explosion of the numbers of trials testing these drugs, both alone and in combination. The latest figure, […]

January 10, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández

hpv cancer isa pharmaceuticals regeneron

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

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

News and Trends 21 Sep 2017

European Commission Approves Merck’s PD-L1 Inhibitor for Aggressive Skin Cancer

Merck and Pfizer’s new immunotherapy, avelumab, has been approved by the European Commission to treat metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. The approval is based on data from a Phase II study, JAVELIN Merkel 200, where subjects responded well to treatment for a sustained period of time. Earlier this year, Avelumab was […]

September 21, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale

imfinzi astrazeneca breakthrough designation

News and Trends 11 Sep 2017

UPDATE: AstraZeneca’s Checkpoint Inhibitor Could be a Lung Cancer Blockbuster

UPDATE: 11/09/2017: AstraZeneca has presented impressive results at ESMO that show Imfinzi adding 11 months to patient survival, or decreasing the risk of progression by 48%, in Stage 3 NSCLC. This indication represents a sizable market segment — about half of lung cancer — and Imfinzi’s first-line position could make it a blockbuster. Original Publication: […]

September 11, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner

News and Trends 8 Sep 2017

Checkpoint Inhibitor from Regeneron and Sanofi gets Priority After Breakup

The FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation to Regeneron and Sanofi for cemiplimab, just a month after announcing they will part ways soon. Cemiplimab (REGN2810) has been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), considered the second deadliest skin cancer after melanoma. The antibody is a […]

September 8, 2017 - 1 minutemin - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández

Cancer immunotherapy resistance mechanism University Hospital Zurich

News and Trends 27 Jul 2017

Swiss Researchers Unveil Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance Mechanism

Scientists from the University of Zurich have identified an epigenetic control switch responsible for turning melanoma unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors. A study published this week in Cell Reports describes a mechanism that might be responsible for the development of resistance to cancer immunotherapy. The culprit turned out to be Ezh2, a protein that controls genetic […]

July 27, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández

astrazeneca imfinzi durvalumab tremelimumab

News and Trends 27 Jul 2017

AstraZeneca Misses Endpoint in Big Checkpoint Inhibitor Combo Trial

AstraZeneca has announced its Phase III trial with durvalumab and tremelimumab has failed to achieve better results than standard chemotherapy in lung cancer. AstraZeneca’s MYSTIC study was evaluating a combination of checkpoint inhibitors as a first-line treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The therapy couldn’t improve progression-free survival when compared with the standard of care […]

July 27, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández

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