Immunology and inflammation
Two biotechs set out for the public markets this week, with Upstream Bio raising $255 million for its inflammatory disease work, while CAMP4 Therapeutics picked up $75 million to develop RNA-targeting drugs.
On the heels of Keytruda’s success in a Phase III perioperative trial for a disease where it had previously failed to improve event-free survival, Merck touts an I&I deal with UK biotech Mestag.
The clinical hold doesn’t cover its drug’s Investigational New Drug application for autoimmune hepatitis, for which the Phase IIa PORTOLA trial is ongoing.
Under the deal announced Friday, the Italian pharma will make an upfront payment of $825 million to Sanofi for global rights to a biologic for the treatment of cold agglutinin disease, with milestone payments of up to $250 million.
William Blair analyst Matt Phipps in a note to investors wrote that despite the patient deaths, the totality of the data still leans in favor of Kezar Life Sciences’ investigational immunoproteasome inhibitor zetomipzomib.
In the Phase III REGENCY study, Gazyva elicited superior complete renal response rates in patients with lupus nephritis versus placebo, positioning Roche’s therapeutic antibody for expansion into the indication.
Stifel analyst Paul Matteis called Tuesday’s readout a “positive surprise” that could reinvigorate some investor enthusiasm for Biogen as the company “has essentially become an out-of-favor value stock,” driven by the slow launch of its Alzheimer’s disease therapy Leqembi.
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.
If approved in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Nucala will compete with Verona’s Ohtuvayre and—pending a potential approval later this month—Sanofi and Regeneron’s blockbuster Dupixent.
J&J gained rights to the FcRn blocker nipocalimab when it acquired Momenta Pharmaceuticals in August 2020 for $6.5 billion.
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