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Today’s Big News

Jan 30, 2024

2seventy splits once more, sending cell therapy pipeline to Regeneron

Vertex's pain prospect hits main goal in phase 3 trials but fails to beat Vicodin

Editor's Corner—Biotech insiders savor 49ers' latest victory in Super Bowl run

Pfizer cuts 3 assets as R&D spend drops 24% in Q4

Gilead stops phase 3 TIGIT trial, doubling down on other studies and pumping $320M into partner Arcus

Alto aims for $101 million IPO to pave neuro development climb

Kura’s leukemia treatment performs best when tacked onto existing combo, new data show

CAR-Ts turn back the clock on metabolic aging in mice—and even prevent it

After GSK and Novartis handoffs, Laekna's drug fails ovarian cancer trial

New bowel cancer target could help chill disease aggression and spread

Featured

UPDATE: 2seventy splits once more, sending cell therapy pipeline to Regeneron in dramatic strategic overhaul

By Annalee Armstrong

Once again, 2seventy bio is splitting in two, but this time the shift is seismic. The cell therapy company is offloading pre-clinical and clinical cell therapy programs to Regeneron to form a new unit, laying off staff, losing its CEO and restructuring remaining R&D programs.

Vertex's pain prospect hits main goal in phase 3 trials but fails to beat Vicodin

By Nick Paul Taylor

Vertex’s long-running attempt to crack the blockbuster pain market has finally delivered a pair of phase 3 wins. And yet, the positive news was tempered by the failure to hit key secondary endpoints designed to show the non-opioid medicine is more effective than an existing, widely-used painkiller.

Editor's Corner—Biotech insiders savor 49ers' latest victory in Super Bowl run

By Max Bayer

Is the hottest club in biotech a football stadium? Sunday's NFC Championship at Levi's Stadium in San Francisco drew biotech vets from around the country.

Pfizer cuts 3 assets as R&D spend drops 24% in Q4

By Gabrielle Masson

Pfizer is trimming its pipeline (and team), discarding three assets after R&D spending dropped 24% in the last quarter of 2023.

Gilead stops phase 3 TIGIT trial, doubling down on other studies and pumping $320M into partner Arcus

By Nick Paul Taylor

Arcus Biosciences and Gilead are rethinking their TIGIT strategy. Gilead is stopping a phase 3 lung cancer TIGIT clinical trial—and walking away from another project—but reaffirming its commitment to Arcus by pumping a further $320 million into the biotech.

Alto aims for $101 million IPO to pave neuro development climb

By Max Bayer

Alto Neuroscience is looking to raise roughly $101 million from an initial public offering, the company disclosed Monday.

Kura’s leukemia treatment performs best when tacked onto existing combo, new data show

By Max Bayer

New data from Kura Oncology’s phase 1b trial shows that the company’s oral leukemia treatment performed best on top of a standard-of-care combo regimen in newly diagnosed patients with specific mutations.

CAR-Ts turn back the clock on metabolic aging in mice—and even prevent it

By Helen Floersh

Researchers have successfully used chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cells to prevent some signs of aging in young mice and reverse them in old ones, building on the case for the therapy’s place in longevity research and regenerative medicine.

After GSK and Novartis handoffs, Laekna's drug fails ovarian cancer trial

By Gabrielle Masson

Shanghai-based biotech Laekna's oral cancer drug afuresertib has failed to significantly improve progression-free survival for patients with ovarian cancer in a phase 2 trial.

New bowel cancer target could help chill disease aggression and spread

By Helen Floersh

Bowel cancer has been making headlines for its mysterious rise among young people. Now, researchers have identified a potential new target for treating it.

Gilead’s Kite wins FDA nod for new CAR-T manufacturing process to speed up Yescarta turnaround

By Angus Liu

The FDA has approved a manufacturing process that allows Gilead's Kite to shorten Yescarta's manufacturing time from an average of 7 days to 5 days.

Neuralink implants brain-computer chip in first human trial participant

By Andrea Park

“Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal," Neuralink founder Elon Musk wrote on X on Monday.

MultiCare allegedly allowed neurosurgeon to perform, bill for unnecessary surgeries despite warnings

By Dave Muoio

A complaint filed Friday by federal and state officials alleged that the 12-hospital nonprofit set aside "serious concerns" to receive "millions of dollars in revenue, while unknowing patients were endangered and harmed."

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

‘The Top Line’: Closing the $1 trillion women’s health gap

While it’s a known fact that women, on average, live longer than men, a recent report unveils a nuanced reality—women also spend more of their lives grappling with poor health. This week on “The Top Line,” Ayla Ellison, editor-in-chief of Fierce Healthcare and Life Sciences, explores the root causes behind this disparity and the multifacted nature of the women’s health gap.

'The Top Line': A closer look at new drug approvals in 2023

'Podnosis': What’s next for health tech investing in 2024?

Resources

Whitepaper

Developing and Manufacturing Drugs with HPAPIs

Discover how to effectively classify highly potent APIs and the steps required to develop containment protocols and manufacturing processes that are both safe and efficient.

7 “Make or Break” Factors for Emerging Biopharma Companies

This e-book explores 7 factors that are critical to the success of emerging biopharma companies, whether they plan to out-license, partner, or launch & commercialize products. It’s an essential resource for emerging companies with products in all stages of development.

Presented by Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences