Attention has turned to Cytomx Therapeutics Inc.’s CX-2029 candidate after the company held up its program with the CD166-directed antibody-drug conjugate CX-2009, based on phase II data in patients with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-non-amplified breast cancer.
Treating sooner in the disease course – “hit them hard, hit them early,” as CEO Tahir Mahmood put it – may change outcomes for the better with AMT-101, the candidate from Applied Molecular Transport Inc. (AMT) tested in a combo trial against ulcerative colitis (UC), officials said during a conference call with investors.
The Hail Mary pass by Syros Pharmaceuticals Inc. – shares of which have dwindled severely since Jan. 3 – foreseen by some on Wall Street, came in the form of a $130 million financing and the merger with Tyme Technologies Inc., bringing in-house pipeline assets as well as net cash in a deal that, after accounting for wind-down and transaction expenses, is worth about $60 million.
Recently published real-world data with Firazyr (icatibant), the selective B2 bradykinin receptor antagonist from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to treat acute hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks, trained a spotlight on the space, where a handful of players compete. Among the prospects is the early stage but intriguing Star-0215 from Astria Therapeutics Inc., which could be the next advance in the kallikrein-inhibitor class.
Blueprint Medicines Corp. CFO Mike Landsittel called his firm’s potential $1.25 billion financing deals with Sixth Street and Royalty Pharma “once in a lifetime” arrangements that came at the end of a competitive process in a formidable cash environment.
Trevi Therapeutics Inc. took its place among several late-stage contenders by scoring a win in prurigo nodularis in the form of positive data from the 360-participant, phase IIb/III Pruritus Relief through Itch-Scratch Modulation, or PRISM, trial with oral Haduvio (nalbuphine extended release).
After its $247 million acquisition of Epizyme Inc., Ipsen SA will continue to shop for M&A prospects, said Ipsen CEO David Loew, noting that “the [company’s] firepower has not been absorbed in a significant fashion by this deal,” and the firm might undertake a larger transaction next time in oncology, rare diseases, or neurology.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. aims to resolve “very quickly” the clinical hold placed by the U.S. FDA on SRP-5051 (vesleteplirsen) for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), said Louise Rodino-Klapac, chief scientific officer.
Uniqure NV rolled out stock-pleasing safety and biomarker data from 10 patients enrolled in the low-dose cohort of the ongoing phase I/II trial with AMT-130 for the treatment of Huntington’s disease (HD), but investors must wait for details on MRI scans. “We have communicated that we will discuss the MRI findings in the middle of next year,” CEO Matt Kapusta told investors during a conference call. “That’s all I can say.”
Shares of Athira Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHA) plunged almost 66.3%, or $5.60, to close at $2.85 on June 22 after the company disclosed top-line results from its exploratory phase II study with fosgonimeton (ATH-1017, fosgo) in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
