French biotech Pep-Therapy SAS is in the midst of raising a €20 million (US$21.62 million) round and, at the same time, prospecting for potential partners after winning FDA orphan drug designation for its bifunctional peptide Pep-010 in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Pep-010 currently is moving to the conclusion of a phase Ib trial and the new money will fund phase II development.
It was a mixed day for Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which disclosed separately on March 28 both the termination of a $336 million licensing deal with CS Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and upbeat plans to unveil three new oncology assets at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research in April.
As companies continually search for next-generation obesity prospects, one of the leaders in the disease space, Novo Nordisk A/S, has obtained an exclusive license to a preclinical-stage, first-in-class, small-molecule inhibitor of Acyl-CoA synthetase 5 (ACSL5) developed by Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The EMA has rejected the Alzheimer’s disease therapy Kisunla (donanemab) from Eli Lilly and Co., saying the benefits of the anti-amyloid antibody do not outweigh the risks of edema and hemorrhage in the brain, known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA).
The first disease modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s may have limited utility in some senses, but they will be a force for change, providing momentum and altering the way governments as payers, and health systems as carers, think about the disease.
Astrazeneca plc is investing heavily in China, signing two R&D deals, worth up to about $8 billion in up-front payments and milestones combined, with Chinese companies Harbour Biomed Ltd. and Syneron Bio, establishing a joint venture with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. (Biokangtai) for vaccines, and creating a new R&D center in Beijing through another $2.5 billion investment.
The obesity market is driving pharma’s return on investment (ROI) upward, with the projected return rising to 5.9% overall in 2024, but only reaching 3.8% if GLP-1 assets are excluded. At the same time, the average cost of developing a drug continues to rise and now stands at $2.23 billion, compared to $2.12 billion in 2023, according to Deloitte’s 15th annual analysis of the ROI from pharmaceutical innovation.
Eight months after announcing the $18.5 million first tranche of its series A, Augustine Therapeutics has closed the oversubscribed round at $85 million and is now ready to begin clinical development of its novel histone deacetylase-6 (HDAC6) inhibitors.
Astrazeneca plc is investing heavily in China, signing two R&D deals, worth up to about $8 billion in up-front payments and milestones combined, with Chinese companies Harbour Biomed Ltd. and Syneron Bio, establishing a joint venture with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. (Biokangtai) for vaccines, and creating a new R&D center in Beijing through another $2.5 billion investment.
Building upon its already impressive obesity drug portfolio, Novo Nordisk A/S has licensed a triple agonist of the receptors for GLP-1, GIP and glucagon from United Biotechnology Co. Ltd. China-based United is getting $200 million up front and the chance to earn up to $1.8 billion in milestone payments. United Biotechnology retains the rights to subcutaneously administered UBT-251, which is in the early stages of development for treating obesity, type 2 diabetes and other diseases, in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan while Bagsværd, Denmark-headquartered Novo get exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize the triple agonist receptor across the rest of the world.
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