Drug Development

After previously failing studies in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, dalzanemdor’s latest stumble in Huntington’s disease has pushed Sage Therapeutics to pull the plug on the NMDA receptor modulator.
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With the failure of AbbVie’s emraclidine in two mid-stage trials, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy is ‘sole muscarinic winner.’
A tale of two multi-billion schizophrenia deals, AstraZeneca touts strong sales while deflecting questions about an investigation into China exec, the Huntington’s pipeline builds momentum and layoffs continue with Sana Biotechnology and 23andMe.
The past four years have brought disappointment for the Huntington’s community, but optimism is growing as companies including Prilenia and Wave Life Sciences eye paths to approval of therapies that could address the underlying cause of the disease.
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After failing to receive the RMAT designation from the FDA for its early-stage Batten disease gene therapy, Neurogene tells investors that it’s evaluating options for the program.
Analysts are split on whether the positive trial results will help Merck stem future Keytruda losses as the mega-blockbuster goes off patent in 2028.
Regenxbio is pushing its Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy into pivotal development, with a BLA planned for 2026—potentially posing a threat to Sarepta’s Elevidys.
Incyte’s pipeline updates on Monday bring into question the value of its $750 million Escient acquisition in April 2024—and further erode confidence that the biotech can effectively mitigate the impacts of Jakafi’s loss of exclusivity in the coming years, according to analysts.
Lilly’s muvalaplin is the first oral drug to show positive Phase II findings for Lp(a) reduction, eliciting up to an 86% drop in the biomarker after 12 weeks.
The deal has secured Novartis the chance to work with Ratio Therapeutics on a novel drug candidate that could fortify the Big Pharma against competition from would-be radiopharmaceutical rivals such as BMS and Lilly.
Phase II results for Cybin’s psilocin therapy showed remission rates of 71%, but just eight patients made it to the 12-month milestone.
Neurogene’s shares fell by 36% as the market opened Monday morning following news that a patient experienced systemic hyperinflammatory syndrome in a Phase I/II clinical trial of Rett syndrome gene therapy NGN-401.
Boston Pharma’s once-monthly injection efimosfermin alfa offers a convenient dosing option for MASH patients while also achieving promising rates of fibrosis and MASH improvement, according to a Phase II readout.
Analysts appear optimistic for Intellia’s gene editor nex-z, which showed a greater serum TTR reduction than Alnylam’s Amvuttra.