Athira Pharma Inc. closed on an $85 million series B financing designed to advance its small molecule, NDX-1017, into a phase II/III trial for treating Alzheimer’s disease later this year. The company is using positive data generated last year from its phase Ia/b trial in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease as a springboard to the clinic.
New interim phase II data from Replimune Group Inc., of Woburn, Mass., show RP-1 and Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co.) produced multiple complete responses and a high rate of deep responses in anti-PD-1/anti-CTLA-refractory melanoma.
The juggernaut that is Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s Enhertu continued to roll into this weekend’s American Society of Clinical Oncology virtual meeting, bringing momentum from its December FDA approval for HER2-positive breast cancer, along with fresh data from three new studies in other indications.
Aduro Biotech Inc. and privately held Chinook Therapeutics Inc., will merge to focus mainly on kidney diseases. Two complementary drugs are involved in the deal.
In data taken from three expansion cohorts of Exelixis Inc.’s phase Ib study of Cabometyx and Tecentriq in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors, a 27% objective response rate was seen in those with immune checkpoint inhibitor-pretreated non-small-cell lung cancer.
Two phase III stumbles of Iterum Therapeutics plc’s sulopenem have cast the company’s future in doubt. The latest problem is the failure of the penem anti-infective compound, with oral and I.V. formulations, failing to achieve statistical noninferiority relative to ertapenem in treating complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI).
The juggernaut that is Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.’s Enhertu continued to roll into this weekend’s American Society of Clinical Oncology virtual meeting, bringing momentum from its December FDA approval for HER2-positive breast cancer, along with fresh data from three new studies in other indications.
In a deal potentially worth $3 billion, privately held Repare Therapeutics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Montreal, entered a research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) to identify synthetic lethal precision oncology targets for drug candidates.
Positive preclinical data from Phio Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Marlborough, Mass., propelled the company stock (NASDAQ:PHIO) dramatically upward, about 86%, at midday Friday only to see it finally settle at a more modest 36.16% increase to close May 29 at $3.05.
Arca Biopharma Inc., of Westminster, Colo., is developing AB-201, a selective inhibitor of tissue factor (TF), as a treatment for COVID-19-associated coagulopathy, abnormal blood clotting and related inflammatory response. The move gave the company new life Thursday.
