At the recent American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting, Blueprint Medicines Corp. unveiled results from the registrational phase II Pathfinder study with Ayvakit (avapritinib) in systemic mastocytosis (SM), adding more promise to the KIT inhibitor class.
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Aegis, Alzecure, Bergenbio, Checkmate, Erytech, Humanigen, Lyndra, Medivir, Pharmabcine, Sirnaomics, Todos Medical, Transcenta, Ziopharm, Zyus.
Koelis SAS reported the first successful procedures for its platform in 3D fusion imaging-guided focal ablation of prostate cancer at the Clinique Nantes Atlantis in Saint-Herblain, France. These first procedures take place against the background of a multicenter prospective clinical trial starting on the Koelis platform. This includes eight European urology centers, of which six are in France, with data being stored in a dedicated registry.
Heidelberg, Germany-based Affimed NV described its progress at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting and discussed the research in a conference call on 2020 financial results, adding fuel to investor enthusiasm for the firm’s natural killer (NK) cell approach, although the update did not come without some confusion.
With phase III data due from Phathom Pharmaceuticals Inc. in the near term, investor eyes are turning to the ways that lead compound vonoprazan, a potassium-competitive acid blocker, might distinguish itself from proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Biogen, EMD, Horizon, Implicit, Kintor, Merck KGaA, Quantum Leap, Roche, Takeda, TG.
Phase I data on immune responses induced by Inovio Inc.'s COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate, INO-4800, showed it induced neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses against all spike protein variants tested in a phase I study, including those first detected in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil. A preliminary report on the analysis, published on bioRxiv, preceded the reporting of phase II data on the candidate expected later this quarter as well as a potential move to phase III testing, pending resolution of a partial clinical hold on the study first announced in September 2020.
The FDA granted an investigational device exemption (IDE) to Hancock Jaffe Laboratories Inc. for Venovalve, clearing the way for the company to begin a pivotal trial of the implantable valve in patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) of the deep veins of the leg. The company’s first patent covering the device was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 7.