Neuroscience

ALS
For Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the FDA, the appointment to the board of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is an opportunity to fulfill a promise he made long ago to a patient with ALS.
Edgewise Therapeutics will now focus on a handful of cardiovascular programs including EDG-7500 for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy thanks to the non-dilutive capital from France’s Servier.
The tragic tale of TIGIT is well known. However, RIPK1, myc, STING and alpha-synuclein have also left a trail of failed clinical trials, canceled partnerships and sunk investments in their wake.
Biogen and Denali’s Parkinson’s disease drug failed to significantly slow disease progression in a Phase 2b study, missing both primary and secondary endpoints.
The recent approval of Regeneron’s Otarmeni underscores the maturation of gene therapies across a range of diseases. Here, BioSpace reviews genetic medicines in development for the central nervous system, retinal, cardiac and neuromuscular diseases.
If Biogen has shown that tau can impact cognition, Denali’s technology—validated with an FDA approval in Hunter syndrome—could ensure the medicine gets where it needs to be for the greatest therapeutic impact, analysts said.
While Biogen’s tau-targeting therapy didn’t demonstrate improvement on a dementia severity scale, the company touted biomarker and cognitive improvements from the Phase 2 study, leaving analysts eager for more data.
The FDA’s extension will give reviewers more time to review a major amendment to Biogen and Eisai’s application for a subcutaneous induction formulation of Alzheimer’s therapy Leqembi. The new target action date is on Aug. 24.
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals comes with a trio of approved drugs as Angelini Pharma expands its neuroscience offerings.
ALS
Biogen’s Qalsody won FDA approval in 2023 to treat a rare, genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. On Tuesday, QurAlis presented interim Phase 2 data showing the potential of a similar drug to more broadly treat the neurodegenerative disease.
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