Microbiotica Ltd. is poised to advance two of its microbiome-derived products into the clinic after securing regulatory approval and fresh finance. The first live bacterial therapeutic, MB-097, will be tested in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced melanoma who have not responded to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The second product, MB-310, is a once-daily oral therapy for treating the inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis.
About two months after Astrazeneca plc said its application for sipavibart (AZD-3152) had been accepted by the EMA for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against COVID-19 in immunocompromised people, Invivyd Inc. unveiled positive 180-day exploratory efficacy data from the company’s ongoing Canopy phase III trial with Pemgarda (pemivibart) in the same indication – and made known less happy news from regulators on the other side of the pond.
All patients dosed in a phase IIa trial with Tryptamine Therapeutics Ltd.’s (Tryp) oral psilocybin (TRP-8802) trial reported an improvement in fibromyalgia pain severity, sleep, and pain interference.
In July 2024, BioWorld reported on 121 clinical trial updates, down from 221 covered in June. The month saw 17 successful phase III trials, alongside four unsuccessful cancer trials.
A long-term look at obese and overweight patients with pre-diabetes found that weekly injections of Eli Lilly and Co.’s tirzepatide led to a 94% reduction in their risk of progression to type 2 diabetes compared to placebo – a result that Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger called “exceptional.”
As mpox has now been found in the EU, the race for an effective vaccine has accelerated, with a study failure but increased vaccine production from Europe. The U.S. NIH just released top-line results from a preliminary analysis of a placebo-controlled study of Siga Technologies Inc.’s antiviral, tecovirimat, showing it missed the primary endpoint of statistically significant improvement within 28 days post-randomization in time to lesion resolution for patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In response to the continuing opioid epidemic, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brigham and Women’s Hospital developed a small implantable device that monitors heart rate, respiration and other vital signs indicative of an overdose, then automatically releases a dose of naloxone.
Preliminary results from a phase II study of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s oncolytic peptide for basal cell carcinoma showed half of the participants had lesions reach complete histologic clearance with no tumor cells left behind. Those who still had tumors saw them shrink 71%. Every participant that received the treatment had a tumor-size reduction of 86%.
With favorable data from the phase III trial testing izokibep, a small protein therapeutic designed to inhibit IL-17A, in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), Acelyrin Inc. CEO Mina Kim said the firm will “look at all the options and do what’s best for the program.” The phase III trial hit its primary endpoint of Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response 75 at 12 weeks. At the same time, the Los Angeles-based firm made known a refocused pipeline strategy that prioritizes lonigutamab in thyroid eye disease (TED) and is projected to extend its cash runway.
Data from an interim analysis have convinced Syros Pharmaceuticals Inc. to stop enrollment in its phase II study of treating newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and retinoid alpha receptor agonist gene overexpression. Analysts seemed unconcerned about the repercussions for Syros’ phase III study in myelodysplastic syndrome.
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