Updates on health agency nominees; New data from Pfizer, Beam; MASH startup...
Welcome back to Endpoints Weekly. Our reporters tracked a flurry of deals and data readouts this week, plus updates on the Trump administration’s health agency picks. Let’s dive in. The Trump...
View ArticleLatigo collects $150M to get non-opioid data to compete with Vertex in acute...
Latigo Biotherapeutics thinks it can one-up Vertex Pharmaceuticals' recently approved Journavx, which ignited the non-opioid landscape for treating pain. The Los Angeles-area biotech is testing a...
View ArticleAstraZeneca to buy cell therapy startup EsoBiotec for $425M upfront
AstraZeneca said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a cell therapy biotech founded just four years ago for an upfront payment of $425 million. The UK pharma has also promised up to $575 million ...
View ArticleAvidity heads to FDA with exon 44 skipping Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug
Avidity Biosciences shared Monday that its RNA drug for people with certain mutations of Duchenne muscular dystrophy continued to show strong results as it completed a Phase 1/2 study, and the biotech...
View ArticleHC Bioscience, a tRNA biotech backed by ARCH and Takeda, shuts down
A Boston biotech trying to bring transfer RNA (tRNA) biology to the drug development field has shuttered operations, Endpoints News has learned. The startup, called HC Bioscience, broke onto the scene...
View ArticleAstraZeneca spotlights first-in-human data for B7-H4-targeting ADC in...
AstraZeneca is fine-tuning plans for a Phase 3 study for its B7-H4-targeting ADC after the drug produced encouraging response and survival results in endometrial cancer patients enrolled in an early...
View ArticleOtsuka's Taiho buys Swiss startup Araris with three ADCs nearing the clinic
A small Swiss drug developer is being scooped up for its pipeline of three antibody-drug conjugates that offer a next-generation approach to the area of oncology R&D that has ballooned in recent...
View ArticleCurevo gets $110M for a shot against Shingrix, gets Moncef Slaoui and Tal...
A Seattle biotech trying to take on one of the world’s biggest vaccines has nabbed a megaround. It also named former Operation Warp Speed chief scientific advisor Moncef Slaoui as its board chair and...
View ArticleGRO Biosciences, working on recoded organisms, cuts most staff
GRO Biosciences, a small but ambitious biotech startup attempting to create novel protein drugs from genetically modified bacteria, has cut most of its staff after “efficacy issues” delayed its...
View ArticleKennedy's anti-vaccine actions shouldn't surprise anyone
At the end of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) raised a rhetorical question at the heart of whether Kennedy was the moderate he’d...
View ArticleVertanical’s Phase 3 win for non-opioid painkiller; Apriori lays off 40% of...
Plus, news about Pillar, vTv Therapeutics, OPKO Health, Entera Bio, Zentalis, Sutro Biopharma and Idorsia: Vertanical’s non-opioid painkiller succeeds in Phase 3: The German biotech claimed a...
View ArticleOrca Bio's T cell therapy may help blood cancer patients avoid transplant issues
Orca Bio on Monday said its T cell therapy, when used in people with certain blood cancers, reduced the risk of treatment complications seen with bone marrow transplants. The company now ...
View ArticleAll selected drugmakers agree to round 2 of price negotiations
The second round of Medicare price negotiations is now underway for all 15 selected drugs with signed agreements in place from the manufacturers of those drugs. Twelve manufacturers will negotiate the...
View ArticleAstraZeneca reports Phase 3 win for hypoparathyroidism drug eneboparatide
AstraZeneca’s $1.05 billion bet on French biotech Amolyt Pharma seems to be paying off. On Monday, the UK drugmaker reported a late-stage success for the hypoparathyroidism drug that sparked the...
View ArticleWuXi AppTec's US revenue growth continues to dip in post-Biosecure environment
A year after the Biosecure Act was introduced, WuXi AppTec’s US revenue growth continued to drop significantly, and the Chinese manufacturer failed to grow its customer base for the first time in five...
View ArticleAstraZeneca inks deal with Alteogen for subcutaneous cancer drugs
AstraZeneca is betting roughly $1.35 billion on Korean biotech Alteogen to help develop under-the-skin versions of multiple oncology therapies. The British pharma will license ALT-B4, a compound that...
View ArticleTrump’s HHS defends Biden-era stance on 340B rebate models
The Trump administration defended HHS’ rejection of drugmakers' 340B rebate models “at this time,” but suggested that the agency could be open to further consideration. The comments, made in response...
View ArticleFDA staff return to White Oak campus after Trump administration push
Packed parking, long security lines and traffic greeted returning FDA workers on Monday, who were called back to the agency's main White Oak campus as part of the Trump administration's effort to force...
View ArticleSofinnova raises €165M for new early-stage biotech fund
European life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners disclosed a €165 million acceleration fund on Tuesday to back early-stage science in Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Denmark. The fund,...
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