Cancer
Data released by the FDA show that Revolution Medicine’s newly approved pancreatic cancer drug underperformed in a large subgroup of patients, but analysts say the biotech still has a clear winner.
The centerpiece of Bristol Myers Squibb’s 2024 RayzeBio buy has read out, hitting the primary endpoint in a late-stage tumor trial.
After Abogen Biosciences’ COVID shot missed the commercial window, the big question was whether its mRNA technology could create value beyond vaccines. Novartis’ $575 million upfront commitment is the clearest external validation yet of that broader therapeutic potential.
ArriVent BioPharma’s Phase 3 lung cancer trial was clouded by stronger-than-expected data for patients receiving chemotherapy, prompting analysts to pivot focus to a late-stage test of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor in a different type of lung cancer and to the biotech’s antibody-drug conjugate pipeline.
New data for Genmab and AbbVie’s bispecific antibody Epkinly wowed analysts and could set the partners up for an expanded approval in diffuse large B cell lymphoma; deals have flowed steadily this week, including Novartis’ nearly $8 billion bet on mRNA drugs with China’s Abogen Biosciences; and could Sarepta Therapeutics turn things around from last year’s annus horribilis?
AbbVie and Genmab’s bispecific antibody blew analyst expectations out of the water with a 51% improvement in progression-free survival when used alongside a standard frontline regimen in diffuse large B cell lymphoma—potentially setting up a battle with Roche’s Polivy.
BMO Capital Markets is more impressed by Merck’s plans to replace lost Keytruda revenue than on Bristol Myers Squibb’s efforts to fill the expected void that will come from loss of exclusivity for both Opdivo and Eliquis.
Summit Therapeutics scores a $2 billion equity investment from AstraZeneca to support ivonescimab’s late-stage development; uniQure crashes after four-year data from its Huntington’s disease gene therapy failed to impress; Kyverna Therapeutics brings new light to a struggling CAR T space in autoimmune disease.
Strange and bittersweet. That’s how Claire Mazumdar describes her plan to step down from the top spot at Bicara, a biotech she helped form, and head out on parental leave before transitioning into a new role.
The all-stock deal gives Summit Therapeutics enough money to see through Phase 3 trials for the PD-1/VEGF bispecific ivonescimab—but keeps the asset fully in-house without giving up licensing rights.
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