Merck & Co. Inc. has turned to Asia for a second time to get into the GLP-1 market, this time to Shanghai-based Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. for its investigational preclinical oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. Hansoh is getting $112 million up front and could bring in another $1.9 billion in milestone payments. Merck said the addition to its GLP-1 arsenal is “to provide additional cardiometabolic benefits beyond weight reduction.”
Released from a clinical hold by the U.S. FDA in late September, Biomea Fusion Inc.’s menin inhibitor, icovamenib, has charged ahead to produce positive top-line data from a phase II study in type 2 diabetes (T2D). The data, however, didn’t stop the stock from dropping to near its lowest level of the past 12 months.
Kura Oncology, Inc. and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd.’s selective oral menin inhibitor ziftomenib showed encouraging data across multiple studies, the most encouraging of which were in combination with other standard of care therapies in patients with NPM1-mutant and KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia.
Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is progressing synthetic antibiotic Recce-327 to pivotal phase III trials in Indonesia for the treatment of diabetic foot infections. The trial, which is assessing Recce-327 as a topical gel (R327G), is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, Recce CEO James Graham told BioWorld.
Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA scored €44 million (US$46.26 million) up front in a potential €117 million licensing deal with EA Pharma Co. Ltd. to pad the clinical runway of its late-stage oral schizophrenia asset, evenamide (NW-3509), sending company stock prices up near 20%.
Caliway Biopharmaceuticals’ lipolysis candidate, CBL-514, met all the primary and secondary efficacy endpoints in a phase IIb study for subcutaneous fat reduction, paving the way for the company to begin a global pivotal phase III study in 2025.
Beigene Ltd. struck a global licensing deal with CSPC Zhongqi Pharmaceutical Technology (Shijiazhuang) Co. Ltd. worth up to $1.5 billion for its phase I selective methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) inhibitor, SYH-2039, which is being explored for solid tumors.
Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has acquired Bayer AG’s phase II obstructive sleep apnea candidate, BAY-2925976, in a deal worth €85M (US$89.3 million) plus sales-based royalties and commercial milestones.
Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is progressing synthetic antibiotic Recce-327 to pivotal phase III trials in Indonesia for the treatment of diabetic foot infections. The trial, which is assessing Recce-327 as a topical gel (R327G), is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, Recce CEO James Graham told BioWorld.
Puretech Health plc has announced phase IIb data showing its reformulation of pirfenidone has improved the tolerability and increased the efficacy of the marketed antifibrotic in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The tweak on the original molecule involved substituting three hydrogen atoms with three of the heavier counterpart, deuterium, improving stability, whilst retaining the antifibrotic effect.
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