Two biopharma companies entered the public markets on July 14, with Apogee Therapeutics Inc. pricing a $300 million IPO, the second largest U.S. debut this year, and Sagimet Biosciences Inc. raising $85 million. Apogee, of San Francisco, and Waltham, Mass., is advancing APG-777 and APG-808, which are in development for atopic dermatitis (AD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while San Mateo, Calif.-based Sagimet’s lead candidate is the FASN inhibitor denifanstat for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Researchers from Astrazeneca plc have presented a novel adeno-associated virus (AAV)-delivered human (h)IL-33 neutralizing scFv-based protein construct at the 2023 World Congress on Basic and Clinical Pharmacology.
First Wave Biopharma Inc. is taking apart the top-line data from its phase II study of adrulipase for treating nutrition deficiencies in cystic fibrosis patients and seems unsure exactly what it found. The company said that while the initial data found the enhanced enteric microgranule delivery formulation of adrulipase was safe, well-tolerated and was an improvement over other formulations, the preliminary data also indicate that “it is likely the primary efficacy endpoint was not achieved.”
Sato Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has divulged azaindole derivatives acting as hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase (HPGDS) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, myocardial infarction, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcopenia and thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger’s disease), among others.
Resmed Inc. has acquired Somnoware Inc., a privately held developer of respiratory care diagnostics software, for an undisclosed price. The deal is Resmed’s third software acquisition in the past year, having snapped up German software-as-a-service (SaaS) maker Medifox Dan GmbH for $1 billion in June 2022 and Mementor GmbH last August.
Yingxi Intelligent Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. has identified substituted monocyclic or bicyclic heterocyclic compounds acting as fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitors and reported to be useful for the treatment of asthma, cancer, chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation, autoimmune and Parkinson’s disease, among others.
Edding Group Co. Ltd. announced June 23 it filed for an IPO on the Hong Kong Exchange – news that comes amid a steep drop in China’s biopharma IPO market forecasting sluggish activity in a near-frozen “capital winter.”
The FDA has awarded orphan drug designation to HL-001, a novel lysophosphatidic acid receptor-1 (LPA1) antagonist being developed for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by Ube Corp. and Hilung Inc.
A tough spring has settled into a cruel summer for Fibrogen Inc. as the company has stumbled for the third time in two months. The newest problem is top-line results showing the phase III Zephyrus-1 study of pamrevlumab, a monoclonal antibody, missed its primary endpoint for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
While investors focused on the top-line miss from Avalo Therapeutics Inc.’s phase II study of AVTX-002 (quisovalimab) in non-eosinophilic asthma, sending company shares (NASDAQ:AVTX) falling 89% to close at 50 cents June 26, the company pointed to promising trends seen in an exploratory analysis affirming the potential of targeting LIGHT.