Blueprint Medicines Corp. found a new U.S. commercialization home for Gavreto (pralsetinib) through an agreement with Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. potentially worth $117.5 million, now that Roche Holding AG has relinquished all rights. The product, a once-daily oral small-molecule kinase inhibitor of wild-type RET (rearranged during transfection) and oncogenic RET fusions, received accelerated approval in 2020 by the U.S. FDA, under priority review and with orphan drug designation, to treat adults with metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer.

Researchers from Zjengzhou University reported on the discovery and preclinical characterization of a novel PROTAC agent aimed at overcoming paclitaxel (Taxol) resistance in non-small-cell lung cancer treatment.

Eli Lilly & Co. has selected FHD-909, a first-in-class oral BRM-selective inhibitor, for clinical development from its 2021 collaboration with Foghorn Therapeutics Inc. Lilly plans to file an IND for FHD-909 in the second quarter of this year. The primary target patient population is BRG1-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer.

Redx Pharma plc has closed its biggest transaction to date, selling a preclinical KRAS inhibitor program to Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc in a potential $880 million deal. Of that, $10 million will be paid up front, with the balance to come in development and commercialization milestones. For any product that makes it to market, Redx will in addition receive tiered mid-single digit percentage royalties.

Researchers at Kanazawa University, Japan, have reported a mixed-glial culture on/in soft substrate (MGS) platform to investigate cancer-glia interactions in vitro. Using this model, they showed that astrocytes favored brain metastasis by promoting metabotropic glutamate mGlu1 receptor (mGluR1) expression in cancer cells and stabilizing EGFR. Eishu Hirata, an associate professor at the Cancer Research Institute, Division of Tumor Cell Biology and Bioimaging at Kanazawa University, and his team published their work on Feb. 2, 2024, in Developmental Cell.

Taipei-based precision oncology firm Anbogen Therapeutics Inc. drew $12.5 million in a series A funding round to propel two major clinical assets in its cancer pipeline.

Taipei-based precision oncology firm Anbogen Therapeutics Inc. drew $12.5 million in a series A funding round to propel two major clinical assets in its cancer pipeline.

CDR-Life Inc. has announced FDA clearance of an IND application for CDR-404, its lead program in development as a precision immunotherapy for solid tumors.