ALS
The TREM2 stabilizer failed to show efficacy in a Phase 2 trial of patients with early-stage ALS. This development follows two late-stage trial failures reported by Novartis last week, plus the news that the pharma has paused multiple CAR T cell trials following patient deaths.
Three years after Qalsody was approved by the FDA as the first drug to target a genetic cause of ALS, some patients are reporting not only disease stabilization but also improvement of symptoms.
Biotechs that announced series B financing this year and are looking for employees as they grow include one that received over $100 million and another that has a partnership with a Big Pharma company.
Nura Bio will use the series B financing to carry two neuroprotective drug candidates through early- to mid-stage clinical studies, one targeting ALS and the other for a broader neurological profile.
After suffering the market withdrawal of its only product, Amylyx is gearing up for a pivotal Phase 3 readout in post-bariatric hypoglycemia. But the company’s driving ethos is still to treat “debilitating, devastating” neurodegenerative diseases, co-CEO Justin Klee told BioSpace.
Improved survival on display at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago; Pfizer’s unusual pact with China’s Innovent highlights a new type of collaboration; Eli Lilly continues its nonstop deal streak, including with Chinese biotechs; and looking ahead to this weekend’s American Diabetes Association meeting.
For Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the FDA, the appointment to the board of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is an opportunity to fulfill a promise he made long ago to a patient with 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.
Corcept Therapeutics’ amyotrophic lateral sclerosis drug was linked to an 87% reduction in the risk of death, a result the biotech hopes to replicate in an upcoming Phase 3 trial.
Trace Neuroscience, a member of BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2026, has learned from the success of Biogen’s Qalsody and aims to bring more treatment options to the ALS community.
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