Alterome Therapeutics Inc. has closed a $132 million series B financing to support the advancement of its pipeline of next-generation, small-molecule targeted cancer therapies into the clinic, including a highly specific AKT1 E17K inhibitor and a KRAS selective inhibitor.
Cytomx Therapeutics Inc. has announced the nomination of the second clinical candidate under its Probody T-cell engaging bispecific (TCB) collaboration with Astellas Pharma Inc. The two companies are collaborating on multiple conditionally activated TCB programs, with T-cell engagers offering new possibilities for the treatment of solid tumors.
Natural killer (NK) cells play a crucial role in cancer immunosurveillance. Circulating NK cells can kill target cells without prior sensitization. There are some receptors known to impact the activity of NK cells, such as the inhibitory NK cell receptor TIM3, among others, which recognizes phosphatidylserine on the surface of cells. More research has been performed using targeted or genome-wide CRISPR screening to identify cancer cell genes that impact NK cell-killing ability.
Investors might not have been overly excited, but Genmab A/S executives enthused about the “complementarity” of its proposed acquisition of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) specialist Profoundbio Inc. for $1.8 billion in cash. The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2024, marks the biggest by far for the Copenhagen, Denmark-based biopharma and the latest transaction for the red hot ADC space.
The U.S. FDA accepted for review Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s and Astrazeneca plc’s BLA for datopotamab deruxtecan to treat adults with unresectable or metastatic hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who have received prior systemic therapy for unresectable or metastatic disease.
South Korean medical software firm Coreline Soft Co. Ltd. said it gained U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its artificial intelligence-based coronary artery calcification assessing solution, Aview CAC, while raising ₩18 billion (US$13.33 million) in a private placement.
Alterome Therapeutics Inc. has divulged RAC-α serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1; PKBα) (E17K mutant) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Blueprint Medicines Corp. recently disclosed the chemical structure of BLU-222, an oral, potent and highly selective inhibitor of the CDK2 kinase, being developed for the potential treatment of cancers with CCNE1 amplification and/or cyclin E overexpression, such as HR-positive HER2-negative breast cancer resistant to CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy.