Maxinovel Pharmaceuticals Inc. raised ¥100 million ($13.8 million) in a series C+ round to develop its candidates for acute myeloid leukemia, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases.

It’s been a rough year at Macrogenics Inc., but times may be changing. Having terminated a phase II study due to fatalities, dropped 15% of its workforce and closed research and manufacturing sites in the past year, the company has taken the helping hand of Gilead Sciences Inc. The pair have agreed to develop the bispecific MGD-024, which has a CD3 component for minimizing cytokine release syndrome, as an oncology candidate along with two additional bispecific research programs, a potential treatment for certain blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.

Researchers from Abl Bio Inc. recently presented preclinical data for the novel asymmetrical CLL1/CD3 bispecific antibody ABL-602, being developed for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Ryvu Therapeutics SA aims to move its lead drug candidate RVU-120 into three phase III trials in the first half of next year, to evaluate its potential in acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome, in low-risk MDS, and in a number of solid-tumor indications.

A possible route to depleting leukemic stem cells while preserving healthy hematopoietic stem cells has opened up, with the discovery that cyclin-dependent kinase regulatory subunit 1 inhibition suppresses cancer stem cells and at the same time protects healthy stem cells from the toxic effects of chemotherapy.

Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s quizartinib met the primary endpoint of overall survival in the pivotal phase III Quantum-First study, which tested the addition of quizartinib to chemotherapy vs. chemotherapy alone for adults with newly diagnosed FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s quizartinib met the primary endpoint of overall survival in the pivotal phase III Quantum-First study, which tested the addition of quizartinib to chemotherapy vs. chemotherapy alone for adults with newly diagnosed FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML).