Drug Development
In this deep dive BioSpace explores the opportunities and challenges presented by the FDA’s accelerated approval program.
FEATURED STORIES
Pfizer selects its candidate for the oral GLP-1 race as Eli Lilly strives to overtake Novo Nordisk in the injectable weight-loss drug space. Meanwhile, pressure builds to reduce drug prices in the U.S.
Some analysts say so, and a recent study suggested Lilly’s tirzepatide beat Novo’s semaglutide at inducing weight loss, but there are other factors in the market race.
Halia Therapeutics, NodThera and Gain Therapeutics target neuroinflammatory processes in hopes of modifying the course of Parkinson’s progression.
Subscribe to ClinicaSpace
Clinical trial results, research news and highlights from our editorial team, in your inbox every Monday
THE LATEST
Without revealing specific details, GSK announced that it is terminating the development of its investigational herpes simplex virus vaccine after failing to meet the study’s primary efficacy objective.
A study published Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that children between the ages of six and 12 who took liraglutide for just over a year experienced a significant reduction in body mass index compared to placebo.
The late-stage clinical trial results showed that Eli Lilly’s once-weekly insulin efsitora matched daily injections for patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes, respectively.
Despite the disappointing late-stage results in non-small cell lung cancer, Jefferies analyst Stephen Barker contends the likelihood of FDA approval “remains high” for the experimental antibody-drug conjugate, though the regulator is now more likely to convene an advisory committee.
Terns Pharmaceuticals will advance TERN-601 into Phase II after early-stage data showed the oral therapy led to weight loss of 4.9%, comparable with weight loss pills Lilly and Pfizer are developing, according to analysts.
Set to start in 2025, Relay Therapeutics is moving toward a pivotal study of experimental treatment RLY-2608 in heavily pretreated locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
GSK’s twice-yearly depemokimab reduced asthma attacks by half and cut clinic visits by nearly three-quarters, positioning it for an estimated $4 billion in peak sales if approved.
In advanced non-small cell lung cancer, Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab appears to be 49% more effective at reducing the risk of disease progression or death versus Merck’s Keytruda in a late-stage study. However, analysts contend the caveat is that the trial was conducted in an entirely Chinese patient population.
Follow-up data from the MARIPOSA study show a favorable overall survival trend versus Tagrisso in EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The findings come just weeks after the Rybrevant-Lazcluze combination was approved for the first-line treatment.
Using a computational biomarker, the companies say they can identify which patients would derive significant clinical benefit from their experimental antibody-drug conjugate. AstraZeneca and Roche are co-developing and commercializing a companion diagnostic for the biomarker.