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 Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
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 Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
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 Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
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 Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
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 Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 24 May 2017 Top Pharma eye British Tech to Predict Response to Checkpoint Inhibitors Oxford BioDynamics will start the development of an epigenetic test to screen patients for a favorable response to anti-PD-L1 drugs. Oxford BioDynamics has announced an agreement with two of the top 10 global pharma to initiate the development of a blood-based test to predict the response to PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors in patients with non-small cell […] May 24, 2017 - 1 minutemin - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 May 2017 Berlin Biotech Advances its Cancer Drug in a New Trial with Keytruda Noxxon Pharma has teamed up with the NCT in Heidelberg to conduct a Phase I/II trial combining its lead NOX-A12 with checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda. Based in Berlin, Noxxon is yet another biotech looking to bolster the success of checkpoint inhibitors by combining them with its ‘next-generation’ immuno-oncology candidates. The company partnered up with Merck & Co. […] May 16, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 May 2017 Roche’s Checkpoint Inhibitor Misfires in Late-Stage Trials Roche’s drug tecentriq just failed a late-stage Phase III study in bladder cancer, raising questions about its future as an anticipated blockbuster. Roche and Genentech have been pushing their checkpoint inhibitor tecentriq onto the market last year, going for a number of different indications including bladder cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). After the FDA handed out accelerated approval in May 2016, […] May 10, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 17 Apr 2017 Meet One of the Most Successful German Biotech Leaders Ever Patrick Baeuerle is the German biotech leader I wanted to interview the most (besides Simon Moroney from MorphoSys, who came to our Meetup in Munich last week). Patrick has explored and succeeded in just about every area of life sciences, be it as a highly cited academic researcher, a professor at Freiburg University, head of drug […] April 17, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By Philip Hemme Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Apr 2017 Heptares Takes Home €11M for its Next-Generation Checkpoint Inhibitor Heptares Therapeutics has achieved a new milestone in its immuno-oncology collaboration with AstraZeneca triggering an €11M payment from AstraZeneca. Heptares has announced the wrap-up of its preclinical programme for a new checkpoint inhibitor, AZD4635 that reverses adenosine-mediated T cell suppression and enhances anti-tumor immunity. The British company will now receive an €11M ($12M) milestone payment from AstraZeneca, who obtained exclusive global rights […] April 5, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Mar 2017 Swiss Antibodies Recruited by the Developer of BMS’ Cancer Blockbuster Ono Pharmaceutical is offering the Swiss Numab €241M (CHF 258M) for the development of a multi-specific antibody for immuno-oncology applications. Numab, one of the hottest biotechs in Zurich, has developed a unique technology to generate stable antibody fragments (not an easy feat!) and use them as building blocks for multi-specific antibodies that can target up […] March 28, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 20 Mar 2017 Immuno-oncology is Overcrowded – Here is Where Startups Can Succeed The unprecedented competition in the field represents a daunting challenge for companies trying to break in. A BIO-Europe Panel discussed remaining niches. BIO Europe’s panel on immuno-oncology was perhaps the most popular of the day, as attendees filled the room to hear the thoughts of John Haurum, CEO of F-star; Christophe Quéva, CSO of iTeos; and […] March 20, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email