Xilio Therapeutics Inc. is banking $52 million up front from Abbvie Inc., including a $10 million equity investment, plus about $2.1 billion in contingent payments for option-related fees and milestones, plus tiered royalties, as the pair embarks on developing tumor-activated, antibody-based immunotherapies, including masked T-cell engagers.
Snagging its second U.S. FDA approval since being spun out of Pfizer Inc. in 2017, Springworks Therapeutics Inc. is aiming to position Gomekli (mirdametinib), cleared for neurofibromatosis type 1-associated plexiform neurofibromas (NF1-PN) not amenable to complete resection, as a first-in-class drug for adults and potentially best-in-class option for children. The priority approval, which came after market close Feb. 11, more than two weeks ahead of the Feb. 28 PDUFA date, marks the second MEK1/2 inhibitor to hit the market for NF1-PN, a rare, genetic condition.
Genescience Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. has prepared and tested new fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) and/or FGFR3 inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, osteochondrodysplasia and achondroplasia.
Work at the University of Florida has led to the identification of nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1 (Rev-erbA-α) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, sarcopenia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have demonstrated their effectiveness in a variety of solid tumors such as breast, lung, ovarian or bladder cancer and in hematological cancers too. However, in some cancer types, like pancreatic cancer, treatment with ADCs needs enhancement through more appropriate targets and payloads.
High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) is among the most lethal gynecologic malignancies, with up to 90% of patients eventually becoming resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy. The limited availability of effective targeted therapies for platinum-resistant HGSC presents a significant clinical challenge.
Researchers from Tango Therapeutics Inc. have unveiled DNA ligase 1 (LIG1) as a potential new therapeutic target for synthetic lethality in BRCA1-mutant cancers after CRISPR/Cas9 screening.
A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and collaborators identified HMGA1 as a key epigenetic regulator that enhances Wnt signaling in colon cancer.
Kura Oncology Inc. and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd.’s selective oral menin inhibitor, ziftomenib, met the primary endpoints in the phase II registrational Komet-001 trial in patients with relapsed/refractory NPM1-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and Kura expects to submit its NDA to the U.S. FDA in the second quarter of 2025.