Candid Therapeutics Inc. launched with ex-China control of two bispecific T-cell engager antibodies that it plans to develop for autoimmune diseases. The San Diego-based company will start off with a pocketful of cash, having raised over $370 million for the development of the in-licensed candidates.
Work at Dice Alpha Inc. has led to the discovery of new interleukin-17A (IL-17A) production inhibitors. They are reported to be potentially useful for the treatment of psoriasis, radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), hidradenitis suppurativa, spondyloarthritis, psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers from Southern Medical University have divulged the discovery and preclinical characterization of novel PDE4 inhibitors for the treatment of hepatic sepsis. Synthesis and optimization of a series of 7-alkoxybenzofurans led to the identification of compound [I] as the lead PDE4 inhibitor, with PDE4B and PDE4D IC50 values of 10.0 and 15.2 nM, respectively.
Immunotherapy based on T cells is the vanguard of cancer treatments. Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have shown that similar approaches using T cells could be applied for treating injuries of the central nervous system (CNS). They reported their findings in Nature on Sept. 4, 2024.
With full approval from the U.S. FDA in hand for Travere Therapeutics Inc.’s Filspari (sparsentan) to slow kidney function decline in adults with primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN) who are at risk of disease progression, eyes turned to future prospects as well as how a revised risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) program might shake out. During a conference call hosted by Travere, Leerink analyst Joseph Schwartz wanted to know what changes might be made, and if the regulator’s decision might “actually be an entire removal” of the REMS.
In a deal that brings $60 million in cash and equity up front, plus up to $575 million in milestone payments, Shanghai-based Epimab Biotherapeutics Inc. and San Diego-based Vignette Bio Inc. entered a licensing agreement for Epimab’s BCMA-targeting T-cell engager, EMB-06, for autoimmune disease.
Advanz Pharma Ltd. has won a stay on the withdrawal of its primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) drug, Ocaliva (obeticholic acid), after the European Commission (EC) said on Sept. 3 that the conditional marketing approval should be revoked. Following that, London-based Advanz launched a legal challenge, announcing on Sept 5 that the General Court of the EU has temporarily suspended the EC’s decision. As a result, the conditional marketing authorization for Ocaliva remains in place until further notice from the court, and the 7,000 existing patients – and new ones – will still have access to the farnesoid X receptor agonist.
Navigator Medicines Inc. is charting a course through the autoimmune disease drug landscape, having raised $100 million in a series A funding round to advance an OX40 ligand (OX40L)-targeted portfolio licensed from South Korea’s Imbiologics Corp.
Navigator Medicines Inc. is charting a course through the autoimmune disease drug landscape, having raised $100 million in a series A funding round to advance an OX40 ligand (OX40L)-targeted portfolio licensed from South Korea’s Imbiologics Corp.