New data from Arcus Biosciences Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. didn't do much to calm an unsteady development corridor. The companies’ randomized phase II study combining anti-TIGIT domvanalimab and anti-PD1 antibodies for treating first-line, metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer produced positive results, including improvements in median progression-free survival (PFS) and six-month landmark PFS rates vs. monotherapy. But a hefty dent in Arcus' shares provide a reminder of TIGIT’s fragility as a field, and a reminder of the phase III failure in May for Roche Holding AG unit Genentech Inc.'s anti-TIGIT immunotherapy tiragolumab, which dragged down the share value of several other class entrants.
Anocca raises €25M in venture debt as first IND filings loom
Anocca AB raised €25 million ($26.5 million) in venture debt financing from the European Investment Bank to maintain its progress toward the clinic. “We’re quickly moving towards regulatory filings next year,” CEO and co-founder Reagan Jarvis told BioWorld. The company aims to start its first clinical trial in 2024. In addition to the debt financing package, it is also taking on additional equity financing early in the new year. “We see this as part of a series B extension,” Jarvis said. That will position the company – which has already raised over €100 million in equity investment – to transition into a clinical development company after almost a decade building an industrial scale platform for interrogating the fine detail of T-cell receptor binding to tumor associated antigens and neoantigens.
Aravax raises $20M in series B round to take peanut allergy immunotherapy to phase II
With $20 million raised in a series B round led by Brandon Capital and Tenmile, Aravax Pty Ltd. is poised to begin phase II trials of its immunotherapy, PVX-108, for peanut allergy. “Our product is unlike other approaches that are in later stages of development, and those products generally use natural extracts from peanuts to treat peanut allergy,” Aravax CEO Pascal Hickey told BioWorld.
Sciclone gets green light for naxitamab for patients with neuroblastoma in China
Sciclone Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd. has obtained marketing approval in China for Danyelza (naxitamab) for patients with relapsed or refractory high-risk neuroblastoma. The drug, in combination with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, was approved to treat pediatric patients aged 1 and above, as well as adults, who have relapsed or refractory high-risk neuroblastoma in the bone or bone marrow and have demonstrated a partial or minor response to prior therapy or stable disease.
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