Neurodegenerative disease
Elecsys’ approval could help boost the uptake of currently approved Alzheimer’s disease therapies, including Biogen’s Eisai-partnered Leqembi, with CEO Chris Viehbacher recently noting that such biomarker-based tests could “remove some of the bottlenecks” in uptake.
The hold was placed earlier this year when the FDA asked for more preclinical data, but the agency was slow to respond due to ‘strain’ on its capacity, according to Neurizon.
M&A headlined for a second straight week as Genmab acquired Merus for $8 billion; Pfizer strikes most-favored-nation deal with White House; CDER Director George Tidmarsh caused a stir with a now-deleted LinkedIn post; GSK CEO Emma Walmsley will step down from her role; and uniQure’s gene therapy offers new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease.
By improving gait stability, Ionis’ zilganersen could be “potentially disease modifying,” according to analysts at William Blair.
VectorY Therapeutics will evaluate the use of SHP-DB1, a capsid developed by Shape Therapeutics, to deliver therapies to the brain, including VectorY’s developmental Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease treatments.
The reprioritization effort will help AC Immune extend its cash runway through the third quarter of 2027.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, ahead of a vaccine advisory committee meeting later in September. Meanwhile, deal-making appetite appears healthy, and the weight loss space continues generating clinical data and other news.
Novartis is licensing ARO-SNCA, a preclinical siRNA therapy for synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease.
While the approval of Leqembi Iqlik bodes well for Biogen and Eisai’s planned application for a subcutaneous induction regimen next year, its financial impact remains “uncertain,” as potentially higher revenues from the injection could be offset by steeper costs of production, according to Jefferies.
After a demoralizing period punctuated by the withdrawal of one of the few marketed therapies for ALS, investment in new biotechs, state-backed collaborative initiatives and buzz at BIO2025 suggest a new day in drug development for one of medicine’s most intractable diseases.
PRESS RELEASES