Nuance Pharma Co. Ltd. signed a licensing deal with Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic A/S for rights to its MVA-BN RSV vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Korea and certain Southeast Asian countries. Shanghai-based Nuance plans to run its own phase I and phase III trials in China to support regulatory approval of MVA-BN RSV in China, which will be conducted separately from Bavarian Nordic's own phase III trial planned to begin in the first half of 2022.
Oric Pharmaceuticals Inc. is quitting development of ORIC-101 after interim analyses of two phase Ib studies concluded that the clinical activity does not justify going forward with the compound. The company was testing ORIC-101, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, combined with Abraxane in various solid tumors and paired with Xtandi in metastatic prostate cancer.
The Gates Foundation is joining with other philanthropic funders in launching an initiative to develop small-molecule antiviral drugs to lay in as part of preparations for the next pandemic.
A new antibiotic combination developed by Venatorx Pharmaceuticals Inc. "may represent a significant improvement over the standard of care" for adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), said Christopher Burns, the company's co-founder, president and CEO.
The world’s largest genomics study in patients with life-threatening COVID-19 infections has uncovered 16 new genetic variants associated with severe disease and drawn up a roadmap for research into new therapies and diagnostics. The research involved comparing the complete genome sequences of 7,491 patients admitted to 224 intensive care units in the U.K. against those of 48,400 participants in Genomics England’s 100,000 Genomes project, and of a further 1,630 people who had mild COVID-19. While some of the gene variants found in the Genomicc study affect the function of a protein, others influence the amount of the protein that is expressed. An example is mucin-1, where overexpression led to worse outcomes.
To counter the worldwide growth of antimicrobial resistance, a subject of worldwide concern but little actual progress, Arrepath Inc. has raised a $20 million seed financing to advance its machine learning-based platform for discovering new classes of anti-infectives.
Shares in Glaxosmithkline plc ticked down after the U.K. pharma announced that enrolment and vaccination in three trials of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) maternal vaccine will stop, after a safety issue prompted a voluntary pause last week.
SK Bioscience Ltd. is developing a vaccine intended to simultaneously immunize people against the flu and COVID-19. It is the first vaccine of its type to be developed in South Korea and will use the technology from Skycellflu, a cell-cultivated influenza vaccine developed by the Seongnam-si, South Korea-based company.
For years, a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been out of reach. But this could change thanks to several candidates in the late-stage pharma pipeline. Among them, Moderna Inc. became one of the front-runners in the race to develop a vaccine for the virus after this week announcing that its entrant in the contest, mRNA-1345, is moving into phase III development.
A study from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the Karolinska Institute has shown that individuals who carry the major genetic risk variant for severe COVID-19 infection are less likely to contract HIV.
RSS
