Earendil Labs will collaborate with Sanofi SA in a $1.8 billion license deal. Earendil, which specializes in artificial intelligence-based R&D for biologics, is getting $125 million up front and $50 million as a near-term payment. In return, Sanofi gets the exclusive global rights to the bispecific antibodies HXN-1002 and HXN-1003.
The potential for TL1A-targeting duvakitug to impact unmet needs of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), and to provide antifibrotic effects for a host of other diseases, boosted shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Sanofi SA by 26.5% and 6.7%, respectively, as the partners released what analysts called “best-in-class” results from the phase IIb Relieve UCCD study and prepare for a phase III trial in 2025.
South Korean billionaire and chairman of Celltrion Group Jungjin Seo is returning Celltrion Inc. to its contract manufacturing organization (CMO) roots, as it relies on biosimilar sales to anchor the company in a fiercely competitive novel drug R&D arena.
Evotec International GmbH has disclosed integrin α4β7 (LPAM-1) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Several recent Imhotex Ltd. patents describe novel analogues of muramyl dipeptide (MDP), desmuramylpeptides (DMPs), acting as nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2) activators potentially useful for the treatment of Crohn’s disease.
Evotec International GmbH has synthesized integrin α4β7 (LPAM-1) antagonists reported to be useful for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
At the United European Gastroenterology Week in Vienna, Redx Pharma plc presented data regarding their ROCK inhibitor RXC-008 for treating fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease. RXC-008 is restricted to the gastrointestinal tract, thus avoiding systemic exposure; ROCK1/2 kinases are involved in fibrosis and their blockade has been efficacious in several rodent models of fibrotic disease.
