Pleco Therapeutics BV has held a successful pre-IND meeting with the FDA to discuss the continued development of PTX-252, an intravenous formulation designed to treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents about 90% of all cases of liver cancer and has a poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival rate of about 18%. Previous findings had shown that RNA 5-methylcytosine (m5C) plays an important role in HCC progression, where the impairment of ferroptosis plays a crucial role in HCC progression.
Researchers from Guangdong Medical University published data from a study that aimed to identify novel biomarkers that would allow for comprehensive assessment of prognosis and immunotherapy response in patients with testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT).
Astrazeneca plc is investing heavily in China, signing two R&D deals, worth up to about $8 billion in up-front payments and milestones combined, with Chinese companies Harbour Biomed Ltd. and Syneron Bio, establishing a joint venture with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. (Biokangtai) for vaccines, and creating a new R&D center in Beijing through another $2.5 billion investment.
The U.S. FDA rejected, for the second time, Elevar Therapeutics Inc.’s NDA of a novel combination therapy for advanced liver cancer, which comprised Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s PD-1 inhibitor camrelizumab and HLB Co. Ltd.’s small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, rivoceranib.
In a deal that could reach nearly $2 billion, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has licensed a small molecule for treating cardiovascular disease to Merck & Co. Inc., dropping the China-based company into a space with lots of competitors in varying stages of development.
The obesity market is driving pharma’s return on investment (ROI) upward, with the projected return rising to 5.9% overall in 2024, but only reaching 3.8% if GLP-1 assets are excluded. At the same time, the average cost of developing a drug continues to rise and now stands at $2.23 billion, compared to $2.12 billion in 2023, according to Deloitte’s 15th annual analysis of the ROI from pharmaceutical innovation.
Losing nearly 60% of its value, Mural Oncology plc backed away from its lead interleukin-2 (IL-2) drug, nemvaleukin alfa, in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer based on interim results showing it failed to reach significance in the overall survival primary endpoint.
The U.S. FDA’s approval of Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s kit for preparing prostate-specific membrane antigen-PET imaging for prostate cancer widens the opportunities for patients who live far away from large hospitals. The FDA’s nod for the imaging agent, TLX007-CDx, now branded as Gozellix, has a long shelf life and needs less equipment and preparation compared to some other agents.
Investigators from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and the University Health Network have synthesized triazolopyridopyrimidine and dihydroimidazopyridopyrimidine derivatives acting as eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-alpha kinase 4 (GCN2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer and peripheral neuropathy.