Ipsen SA is paying Marengo Therapeutics Inc. $45 million up front and as much as $1.59 billion-plus in milestone rewards to advance a pair of candidates from the latter’s Selective T Cell Activation Repertoire (STAR) platform into the clinic. Terms of the arrangement, which includes tiered royalties, call for Cambridge, Mass.-based Marengo to lead preclinical development and assume responsibility for costs until the submission of an IND, after which Ipsen, of Paris, takes over. In November 2021, Marengo garnered $80 million in a series A round to boost STAR.

AZ’s phase III with Innate halted due to lack of efficacy

Based on results from an interim futility analysis and an independent data monitoring committee’s recommendation, Astrazeneca plc, of Cambridge, U.K., is discontinuing its phase III Interlink-1 study. The study, comparing monalizumab combined with cetuximab vs. cetuximab in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who have been previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and inhibitors, failed to hit its efficacy threshold. The study was a collaboration between Astrazeneca and Innate Pharma SA. Marseille, France-based Innate’s stock (NASDAQ:IPHA) had dropped more than 11% at midday. The deal between the two companies, created in 2015 and updated in October 2018, guaranteed a minimum $241.85 million in cash to Innate, with the potential for almost $1.2 billion in option fees and milestone payments. There are more studies underway, as monalizumab is in a phase III study evaluating durvalumab combined with monalizumab or oleclumab in treating unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer. 

Apollo brings back Cambridge-developed camoteskimab to UK in $89M deal with Avalo

Apollo Therapeutics Group Ltd. has bought worldwide rights to Avalo Therapeutics Inc.’s anti-IL-18 antibody, camoteskimab, in a deal worth up $89 million, taking on development of the early stage drug for arthritis, and potentially other diseases. Cambridge, U.K.-based Apollo will assume responsibility for the future development of the drug, also known AVTX-007, including the ongoing clinical trial in the rare form of arthritis, Still’s disease and other indications. Avalo, of Rockville, Md., will receive $15 million up front, as well as up to $74 million in milestones, as well as a royalty payment of a low single-digit percentage of annual sales.

Lessons learned from a decade following familial frontotemporal dementia patients

During a presentation at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2022, researchers from the Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Initiative consortium presented data from a study following nearly 1,300 patients with FTD caused by a genetic mutation, their presymptomatic family members who have the inherited mutation and unaffected family members to serve as controls. Researchers have used data from the study, which has been enrolling patients for over 10 years, to develop biomarkers that can be used to assess progression of FTD in interventional clinical trials.

Inventisbio nets $296M in Shanghai IPO; shares plunge 15.6% on its debut

Inventisbio Co. Ltd. has raised ¥2.084 billion (US$296 million) in an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market priced at ¥18.12 per share, though its stock saw a disappointing debut, opening at ¥14 per share on the first trading day July 25 and closing at $15.29, for a drop of 15.6%. The stock closed Aug. 1 at ¥14.42. Shanghai-based Inventisbio plans to use the proceeds for the research and development of its core candidates, as well as to build its headquarters office.

ITIF: Japan a cautionary tale for government Rx price controls

As Democrats in the U.S. Senate rush to pass prescription drug pricing reforms through the reconciliation process this week, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is offering Japan’s experience with government price controls as a cautionary tale. “In the 1980s, Japan stood virtually toe-to-toe with global peers in pharmaceutical innovation and, when considering [new chemical entities] as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), Japan led the United States,” according to a new ITIF report. But that’s also the decade when Japan introduced government price controls for drugs, beginning with an across-the-board price reduction of 18.6% in 1981, followed by biennial price cuts. The consequences weren’t immediate, but they have been long lasting.

Overall clinical data and COVID-19 efforts continue to fall

The volume of clinical data in 2022 is down by 16.9% from last year. Pandemic efforts are still decreasing while three therapeutic areas dominate the news. Through the last week of July, there have been a total of 1,997 clinical entries, compared with 2,402 by this point in 2021.

Extending the human lifespan: Beyond rapalogs and metformin, moonshots at the Fountain of Youth

A lot of what goes on during aging remains too poorly understood for straightforward translation. There are hallmarks of aging, and researchers are getting a handle on its biological mechanisms. But in a basic sense, “we still don’t have much of an idea what causes aging,” said Björn van Eyss of the Leibniz Institute for Aging Research. Part six of BioWorld’s multipart series on extending the human lifespan explores the moonshot attracting the most attention: in vivo partial reprogramming.

The BioWorld Insider Podcast

In Extending the human lifespan, a BioWorld special report, the team examined the latest science, the key biological drivers that can be targeted pharmacologically and the companies developing potential “Fountain of Youth” candidate drugs. In this episode of the BioWorld Insider Podcast, the team discussed the report’s highlights and key takeaways.  

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7 Hills, Abbvie, ACM, Adamis, Akari, Apexigen, Arecor, Bioxcel, Bristol Myers Squibb, Corium, Differentiated, Enanta, Fennec, Geovax, Gilead, Glubio, Immunitybio, Lynk, Marinus, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Nuvectis, Obseva, Omeros, Oricell, Ovoca, Quince, Revelation, Shine, Structure, Synthetic, Tallac, Theratechnologies, Trevena, Viiv