Immunomedics Inc. shares (NASDAQ:IMMU) were trading at $26.96, up $4.99, or 22%, on the approval yesterday of the antibody-drug conjugate Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) to treat metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Trodelvy, to be launched soon, was cleared for patients who have undergone at least two prior therapies. Morris Plains, N.J.-based Immunomedics set the wholesale acquisition cost for a single-use 180-mg vial at $2,012, which equates to $16,096 per 21-day cycle for a 70-kg person. Officials outlined marketing plans during a conference call with investors.

Affinivax raises $120M series B to advance MAPS vaccines and immunotherapies

With completion of a $120 million series B financing, announced Thursday, Affinivax Inc. said it's poised to take its lead pneumococcal vaccine candidate through phase III and advance to the clinic several more employing its Multiple Antigen Presentation System (MAPS) for hospital-associated infections. Hedge fund giant Viking Global Investors LP led the round, with participation from Bain Capital LP and Ziff Capital Partners. Affinivax's ASP-3772, partnered with Astellas Pharma Inc., is nearing completion of an ongoing phase II study.

Swanbio raises a $52M series AAV R&D

Privately held Swanbio Therapeutics Inc., of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., completed a $52 million expanded series A financing designed to boost the company’s R&D of adeno-associated virus-based gene therapies to treat adrenomyeloneuropathy and other rare, monogenic neurological diseases. The funding round will also help the company advance its IND-enabling studies, grow its manufacturing and development capabilities and hire more staffers. Swanbio’s CEO is Tom Anderson, the former chief commercial strategy officer at Sage Therapeutics Inc. and a senior operating executive with Shire Pharmaceuticals Group in a number of operational and strategic CEO-advisory roles in both rare diseases and specialty pharmaceuticals. Syncona Ltd. and Partners Innovation Fund made a $20 million investment as part of a $52 million additional commitment to the financing.

Astellas and Nanna Therapeutics ink $15M tie-up

HONG KONG – Not even the 9,500 kilometers between Cambridge, U.K., and Tokyo, nor the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, could prevent Japan’s Astellas Pharma Inc. from completing its acquisition of Cambridge-based Nanna Therapeutics Ltd. in a £12 million (US$14.78 million) deal. Astella’s U.K. arm, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., purchased all of Nanna’s issued share capital through a share purchase agreement, making Nanna a wholly owned Astellas subsidiary. Under the terms, Nanna shareholders are entitled to future development milestones of up to £57.5 million.

In antibody ensemble, second fiddles help the neutralizing stars

By analyzing the antibody response of a survivor of Marburg virus infection, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have gained new insights into the function of non-neutralizing antibodies in fighting infections. The team showed that non-neutralizing antibodies, though they were not able to directly neutralize virus, protected mice against otherwise lethal infections with Marburg virus via two indirect mechanisms. “Antibodies developed by the immune system work in concert,” Alexander Bukreyev told BioWorld. “The antiviral effect of each antibody is affected by the presence of other antibodies.” Bukreyev is a professor of pathology and microbiology & immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and a co-corresponding author of the study reporting the findings, which was published in the April 21, 2020, online issue of Cell Host & Microbe.

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