PERTH, Australia – Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. announced two new pharmaceutical indications for its lead product, Scenesse (afamelanotide). “The company has until now focused on one drug and has slowly gathered evidence and is now in a position to add other products to its pipeline,” Clinuvel CEO Philippe Wolgen told BioWorld.
Miragen Therapeutics Inc. gained ground lost on Wall Street earlier this month and then some, with shares (NASDAQ:MGEN) closing at $1.26, up 74 cents or 142% after the company disclosed plans to take over Viridian Therapeutics Inc., conducting at the same time a private placement that will raise $91 million.
Intellia Therapeutics Inc. is looking to disrupt the transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis (ATTR) market with NTLA-2001, its CRISPR-based treatment designed to be a potential cure for the disease. The drug, which is delivered via a lipid nanoparticle, edits the patient's DNA in vivo to create a stop codon and eliminate the expression of TTR, the protein that aggregates in ATTR patients' nervous systems and hearts, disrupting their functions.
CEO Eric Dube said Retrophin Inc. will “share more [about clinical development plans] once the deal has closed” in the fourth quarter of this year and Orphan Technologies Ltd. belongs to his firm, which has seen only animal data so far with OT-58, an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for classical homocystinuria (HCU).
One of 19 children dosed with an experimental gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome has died following the treatment, given as part of a phase II/III trial of the medicine run by its developer, Paris-based Lysogene SA. The trial has been on clinical hold since June, but the immediate cause of the death is unknown, the company said.
The regulatory path for Saniona AB’s Tesomet for treating two rare eating disorders, Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and hypothalamic obesity, continues to be a winding one with surprises along the way. The newest twist is pre-IND feedback from the FDA that knocked the stock down 10.5% on Oct. 9.
BEIJING – Canbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week won marketing approval in China for its first rare disease drug, the mucopolysaccharidosis II therapy Hunterase (idursulfase beta injection).
PERTH, Australia – With the launch of its lead product, Scenesse (afamelanotide), in the U.S. and Europe, Melbourne-based Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is expanding its global footprint and widening its pipeline as it opens a new R&D center in Singapore and builds up its franchise in photo medicine.
The first weekly therapy for adult growth hormone deficiency (GHD) has arrived in the U.S. with FDA approval for Novo Nordisk A/S' Sogroya (somapacitan). It’s the first of Novo's regulatory filings for the medicine, also submitted in the EU and Japan, to win approval. Sogroya replaces endogenous growth hormone in adults who don't produce enough of it. Novo said it is working to finalize plans to make the therapy available and has not yet disclosed pricing.
Tricida Inc. executives were not surprised when the FDA issued a complete response letter for veverimer to treat chronic metabolic acidosis. Despite an Aug. 22 PDUFA date, the company had received an FDA notification on July 16 that there were deficiencies that would preclude discussion of labeling and postmarketing requirements and commitments.