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.
After spending a lot of money and putting in seven years of hard work, Astrazeneca plc is discontinuing its phase III Interlink-1 study of monalizumab. Results from an interim futility analysis and an independent data monitoring committee’s recommendation convinced the company to bring it to a halt.
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.
Robocath SAS said Cathbot, its joint venture set up in 2020, has enrolled the final patient for its clinical study in China to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of its robotic platform for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). “The completion of our PCI robotic multicenter trial in China is a crucial milestone in our development in this part of the world,” Philippe Bencteux, president and founder of Robocath, told BioWorld.
Better Therapeutics Inc. reported that the pivotal trial for its BT-001 prescription digital therapy (PDT) demonstrated significant decreases in hemoglobin A1c at 90 days that improved further at 180 days in participants with type 2 diabetes. The study showed a clear dose-response between greater use of the PDT and improvements in blood glucose levels.
After an eight-year odyssey, the first cytidine triphosphate synthase 1 (CTPS1) inhibitor has entered the clinic, with Step Pharma SAS announcing it has simultaneously begun studies in the U.S. and the U.K. The phase I/II trial is assessing Step’s lead program, STP-938, in relapsed/refractory B- and T-cell lymphomas, with the first U.S. site opening for enrollment this week.
The U.S. FDA’s summer 2021 approval of Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin) from Ascendis Pharma A/S served to sharpen appetites for an even better therapy to treat for pediatric growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Among players in the forefront is Lumos Pharma Inc., with an oral candidate that could disrupt the competitive space.
Wall Street apparently wants to see longer-term data from Bridgebio Pharma Inc. with oral infigratinib in children with achondroplasia (ACH) before deciding about the drug’s chances against the approved therapy Voxzogo (vosoritide) from Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
After political leaders across the globe made patents and other intellectual property safeguards the scapegoat for disparities in access to COVID-19 vaccines, the biopharma industry is sharing its vision for how to deal with the foundational issues of equitable access in pandemics to come – and it has nothing to do with IP waivers like the one World Trade Organization members adopted last month.