Cancer
Melanoma was slower to recur in patients receiving Merck and Moderna’s mRNA vaccine with Keytruda, supporting use of the combination in adjuvant treatment. The partners plan to take the data to the FDA.
Amylyx shares good news for its investigational GLP-1 blocker; Definium announces positive data for its LSD-based therapy in anxiety; Summit/Akeso’s ivonescimab shows degrading survival benefits; patients treated with Neurocrine’s Prader-Willi drug experience serious adverse events; and Eli Lilly cracks down on the black market for next-gen obesity asset retatrutide.
Ivonescimab notched its third approval in China last week, but the label update has tempered expectations for the Summit Therapeutics/Akeso drug, showing that progression-free survival declines over time.
AstraZeneca will push through with its other Phase 3 studies for volrustomig, including in cervical cancer and mesothelioma.
Johnson & Johnson secured rights to prizlon-cel in 2023 for $245 million upfront. The asset in June last year showed a 100% response rate as a second-line option in a Phase 1b study for 10 patients with relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma.
The FDA approves Zenbexus just as copycat competitors depress sales of Bristol Myers Squibb’s multiple myeloma drugs Pomalyst and Revlimid, which crashed 71% and 49% year-on-year, respectively, in the second quarter.
Taiho Pharmaceutical and Cullinan Therapeutics’ cancer asset is already under FDA review in a later setting, with a decision expected by February.
The terms of the agreement with Royalty Pharma suggest the market potential of Zealand Pharma’s polycythemia vera drug candidate may be undervalued, according to Jefferies analysts.
After two rejections, Replimune has made it across the regulatory finish line with its advanced melanoma therapy. Meanwhile, the last of the major pharmas, including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, reported second quarter earnings, and psychedelics made headlines once again.
The mid-stage win of Silence Therapeutics’ siRNA drug in polycythemia vera validates the therapeutic approach of similar assets in development—but also sets a high standard for therapies from Takeda, Agios and Disc Medicine.
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