PharmaFocus Today – Page 302 – media

Chimerix’s Drug Candidate Improves Survival for Patients with Incurable Brain Tumor

By Matt Olszewski Pictured: Adult holding child’s hand/gorodenkoff/iStock Biopharma company Chimerix announced Wednesday positive results from two early-stage clinical trials for its first in-class small molecule imipridone, a potential treatment for an incurable and aggressive type of pediatric brain tumor which demonstrated longer survival in this subset of patients. The data, published Wednesday in the journal Cancer Discovery, showed that Chimerix’s ONC201 nearly doubled survival for patients with H3K27M-mutated diffuse midline gliomas (DMG), as compared to previous patients. Diffuse midline gliomas with the H3K27M mutation are aggressive, with a survival rate of 11 months to 15 months. However, the median overall survival was nearly 22 months for tumors that had not recurred at the time of enrollment in the trial. In addition, almost a third of those patients lived longer than two years. “These data further elucidate the underlying novel mechanism of action for ONC201 in a patient population which ...
- Source: drugdu
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- August 21, 2023
FDA Approves Ipsen’s Palovarotene for Ultra-Rare Bone Disease

By Tristan Manalac Pictured: U.S. FDA headquarters in Maryland/iStock, Grandbrothers The FDA on Wednesday approved Ipsen’s palovarotene, now to be sold under the brand name Sohonos, for the treatment of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Sohonos is an oral medication indicated for the reduction of heterotrophic ossification in adults and children with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). It is the first medicine authorized by the FDA to treat FOP. “For the first time, doctors have an approved medicine available to them, shown to reduce the formation of new, abnormal bone growth,” Ipsen R&D head Howard Mayer said in a statement. Afflicting approximately 400 patients in the U.S. and 900 globally, FOP is an ultra-rare genetic disease in which muscles and connective tissues are gradually replaced by bone. Patients with FOP often suffer from hindered movements and, in cases where joints are affected, lose their mobility. FOP also manifests as breathing problems and difficulties ...
- Source: drugdu
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- August 21, 2023
US study finds potential new way of improving immunotherapy for tumours

A new study by the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC) in the US has revealed a new way to stimulate the immune system to enable immunotherapy to shrink or eradicate aggressive tumours. By equipping oncolytic viruses, genetically modified viruses, with tumour-inhibiting genetic cargo, researchers found that it ‘warms up’ cold tumours in the immune system and helps immunotherapy tackle the tumour. Oncolytic viruses were previously designed to directly eliminate cancer cells. Researchers found that oncolytic viruses could stimulate the immune system, suggesting their potential use with other cancer therapies to remove the brakes on the immune system for T cells to recognise and combat tumours. “Immune checkpoint inhibitors work only in ‘hot’ tumours, which have already been infiltrated by T cells,” said Greg Delgoffe, associate professor of immunology at Pitt’s School of Medicine and director of the Tumor Microenvironment Center at UPMC Hillman Cancer ...
- Source: drugdu
- 137
- August 21, 2023
FDA approves Talvey for heavily pre-treated multiple myeloma

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Talvey (talquetamab-tgvs) for the treatment of refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma in adult patients who have received at least four prior lines of therapy. Talvey is a bispecific antibody targeting T-cell CD-3 receptors and G protein-coupled receptor class C group 5 member D (GPRC5D) developed by Janssen. It received accelerated approval as a weekly or biweekly subcutaneous therapy. University of California multiple myeloma programme director Ajai Chari noted in a press release: “Patients at this stage of the disease have a poor prognosis. Talquetamab as a first-in-class therapy is a new option for patients with this difficult-to-treat blood cancer.” The approval was based on meaningful overall response rates (ORR) demonstrated in the Phase II clinical trial data. However, continued approval for Talvey is contingent upon further confirmatory trials showing clinical benefit. To that end, Talvey is only available for use via a ...
- Source: drugdu
- 135
- August 21, 2023
Novo Nordisk spends $1bn to acquire weight loss drug developer Inversago.

Amongst fierce competition in the obesity space, Novo Nordisk has spent $1bn to acquire Inversago Pharma to shore up its weight loss treatment portfolio. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2023 and will hit the billion-dollar mark, subject to developmental and commercial milestones. The deal, which comes a month after Eli Lilly acquired Versanis and its lead weight loss candidate, bimagrumab, in a $1.9bn deal, will include Inversago’s lead asset INV-202, an oral cannabinoid receptor type-1 (CB1) inverse agonist. Novo Nordisk said it intends to use the candidate for patients with obesity and obesity-related complications. Canada-based Inversago demonstrated the weight loss potential of the candidate in a Phase Ia trial by blocking the CB1 receptor, which plays an important role in appetite regulation and metabolism. INV-202 is currently in a Phase II trial for diabetic kidney disease (NCT05514548). Prior to the 10 August announcement, Novo ...
- Source: drugdu
- 245
- August 21, 2023
GenScript and T-MAXIMUM partner for CAR-T cell therapy development

Genscript Biotech has formed a strategic collaboration agreement with T-MAXIMUM Biotech to develop CAR-T cell therapy. Leveraging GenScript’s CRISPR nucleic acid re-agents, the partnership will focus on developing T-MAXIMUM’s CAR-T cell therapy. GenScript research and development (R&D) and manufacturing vice-president Dr Li Hong stated: “Our R&D-to-GMP-level sgRNA will support their UCAR-T products for solid tumours. While CAR-T cell therapies have made remarkable strides in haematological tumours, addressing the unmet need for solid tumours remains crucial.” T-MAXIMUM will receive a number of CRISPR re-agents from GenScript. These will support the development of T-MAXIMUM’s universal CAR-T products from discovery to commercialisation. GenScript’s partnership with T-MAXIMUM will drive the latter’s strategic development plan, advancing products into Phase II clinical research and enabling market delivery up to 2027. T-MAXIMUM is currently focused on the development of its universal CAR-T cell therapy product, MT027, to treat recurrent high-grade gliomas. T-MAXIMUM CEO Dr Shang Xiaoyun stated: ...
- Source: drugdu
- 180
- August 21, 2023
Amazon Pharmacy to provide automated discounts for insulin in the US

Amazon has announced that its online healthcare business, Amazon Pharmacy, will provide automated manufacturer-sponsored coupons for over 15 insulin and diabetes medicines to help patients access discounts pledged by the drug industry. The company said that patients will not need to search for and manually enter coupons using the new automatic coupon programme for three insulin makers: Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Sanofi, lowering costs to as little as $35 a month. In March 2023, Novo, Lilly and Sanofi announced that they would be lowering their insulin prices by around 70% by or in 2024. A report published in July by Senator Elizabeth Warren said that some patients were struggling to get already discounted generic insulin from pharmacies at the guaranteed lower price. After Lilly lowered its Insulin Lispro list price in May to $25 per vial, patients were still being quoted up to $330 for the medicine and were ...
- Source: drugdu
- 126
- August 20, 2023
FDA again slams Biocon’s troubled plant in Malaysia, citing 8 manufacturing shortfalls

Biocon’s troubled Malaysia manufacturing facility has been slammed once again by the FDA. After a recent inspection, the regulator cited the plant for eight observations. The latest citation follows an FDA visit to the site from July 10 to July 20. Afterward, the FDA wrote up its findings in a Form 483 filing that highlights inadequate corrective and “repeat” problems that it observed on previous visits. In a letter posted on the FDA’s website, Biocon was cited for a number of ongoing issues such as scissors stored in non-sterile holders being used to open “bags of sterile components,” improper blockage of air filters, insufficient cleaning of sterile machinery and numerous problems with batch testing and record-keeping. The filing, which contained numerous redactions, also cited Biocon’s failure to lay out detailed, written guidelines for some manufacturing operations. “Specifically, your firm has no written procedures on what corrective actions are to be ...
- Source: drugdu
- 176
- August 20, 2023
Lilly’s $13.5M insulin pricing settlement gets pushback from 9 states

Nine states are saying not so fast to a proposed $13.5 million settlement that would get Eli Lilly out of hot water over claims it jacked up the price of its lucrative insulin product Humalog. The states argue Lilly is trying to use the deal to ward off future lawsuits by U.S. states. In a Tuesday filing in New Jersey federal court, lawyers for Arizona, Mississippi and Minnesota urged U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti to delay approval of the deal unless it’s altered to make sure states can still file their own lawsuits over insulin prices. The states joined Illinois, Nebraska, Utah, Arkansas, Kansas and Montana in making their objections known this week. In a separate filing Monday, the group of six states argued that in light of local insulin price caps, Lilly was trying to settle claims valued at about $1 billion by offering price reductions that are already ...
- Source: drugdu
- 150
- August 20, 2023
Moderna says new Covid vaccine was effective against Eris variant in early trial

Moderna’s new Covid vaccine generated a robust immune response against the now-dominant Eris variant and another rapidly spreading strain of the virus in an early clinical trial, the biotech company said Thursday. The updated shot is designed to target omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, but the results suggest that the jab may still be effective against newer variants of the virus that are gaining ground nationwide. That includes Eris and another variant nicknamed Fornax, both of which are also descendants of the omicron virus variant. Moderna’s vaccine and new shots from Pfizer and Novavax are slated to roll out within weeks, pending potential approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Meanwhile, Covid-related hospitalizations fueled by Eris and other variants continue to accelerate but remain below the summer peak that strained hospitals this time last year. Eris, also known as EG.5, accounted for 17.3% of all cases as of earlier this month, ...
- Source: drugdu
- 117
- August 20, 2023

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