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January 31, 2020___

Today's Rundown

Featured Story

'We can do better': BIO's first breakdown of diversity in member companies

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization has been plugging away at improving diversity in its member companies for years, setting up and ratifying a group of diversity goals in June 2017. Now, the industry group has published its first “state of the industry” report and the results are encouraging—somewhat.

Top Stories

Vertex drops VX-961 to continue search for perfect pain drug

Vertex has stopped development of VX-961 after getting a look at phase 1 data. The NaV1.8 inhibitor failed to meet Vertex’s desired pharmacokinetic and tolerability profile, leading it to dump the drug and outline plans to move a follow-up candidate into the clinic. 

Mammoth Biosciences nabs $45M for CRISPR drugs, diagnostics work

Mammoth Biosciences has banked a $45 million second funding round as it looks to double down on its next-gen gene-editing tech.

GeNeuro raises €17.5M for multiple sclerosis clinical trial

GeNeuro has sold stock at a knock-down price to fund a multiple sclerosis trial. The €17.5 million ($19.3 million) private placement averts a cash crunch and sets GeNeuro up to test temelimab in MS patients whose disability progresses without relapses.

University of Pennsylvania researchers nab grant for CAR-T prostate cancer test

The University of Pennsylvania, which has helped pioneer cell therapy approaches to blood cancers, has nabbed an ACGT grant to help battle solid tumors.

Improving CAR-T therapy for cancer by regulating 2 proteins

By manipulating two proteins that are responsible for stimulating CAR-T cells, CD28 and 4-1BB, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found new ways to either dial up the cells’ cancer-killing effect when needed or to dampen their activity to avoid severe side effects.

California court orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $344M over pelvic mesh marketing claims

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $344 million in a landmark state court judgment over deceptive marketing practices for its pelvic mesh products. One of the first rulings of its kind, the verdict is the culmination of a multistate investigation and a lawsuit brought by the California Department of Justice in May 2016.

EuroBiotech Report—Ipsen's woes, AstraZeneca, Roche, GSK in TB and Sanofi

In this week's EuroBiotech Report, Ipsen's $1 billion bet hits more problems, AstraZeneca regains brazikumab and Roche dumps hepatitis B drug.

FiercePharmaAsia—Coronavirus drugs?; Sanofi Korea vaccine bribery probe; Novartis' China plan

AbbVie's HIV drug Kaletra and Gilead's Ebola therapy remdesivir might work against the new coronavirus, Chinese scientists say. A Sanofi exec in South Korea was arrested in a vaccine bribery probe. Novartis aims to double its China sales in five years. And more.

Chutes & Ladders—Ex-Takeda exec Ivarsson joins Moderna as CDO

Moderna nabs Ivarsson as CDO; Passage takes on VC vet Goldsmith as chief executive; biotech insider Reid named CEO at Decibel.

Enrollment Showcase

Online Graduate Programs Designed for Your Career

Drexel University’s online graduate programs in biomedicine, clinical research, drug discovery, and molecular medicine were developed with working professionals in mind, providing you with the education, practical skills, and competitive edge you need to be successful in your career.  Learn more.

Resources

[Whitepaper] Assessing the Financial Impact of Translational Pharmaceutics®

Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) white paper sharing study results that indicate Quotient Sciences’ Translational Pharmaceutics® platform reduces development times by more than 12 months and lowers R&D costs by more than $100 million per approved new drug, compared to traditional multi-vendor development paradigms.

[Whitepaper] What to Look for in an Informatics Platform for Large Molecule R&D

As emerging modalities transform the needs of life science R&D, how can biotech and pharma companies use modern software approaches to increase productivity and reach breakthroughs faster?

[Presentation] Flexible Manufacturing Strategies

Get expert insights on strategies to implement flexible manufacturing and different technologies that are easily scalable and reproducible.

[Executive Summary] Overcoming Manufacturing Challenges for Accelerated Drug Development

Regardless of the assigned FDA expedited approval designation and approach, the key action items should be: the assurance of a detail-oriented plan and the adaption of a “forward-thinking” approach that will assist in any future challenges and opportunities for growth of each project.

[Whitepaper] Digital Disruption in Biopharma: How Digital Transformation can reverse declining ROI on R&D

The beginning of this digital transformation is well underway and is likely to accelerate. Read our white paper, “Digital Disruption in Biopharma: How Digital Transformation can reverse declining ROI on R&D,” to learn more.

[Whitepaper] Telemedicine: Facilitating Clinical Trial Participation

Download this white paper and read the expert feedback that snapIoT has gathered from industry thought leaders on the evolution, evaluation, and use of telemedicine solutions in clinical trials.

[Whitepaper] Are We Transforming in the Right Way? Why Launches Can’t Be Distracted By Empty Promises.

How are your launch strategies can convert “innovation” into value for patients?

[Whitepaper] Modernizing clinical trials with Amazon Web Services (AWS)

From IoT to data management to high-performance computing and machine learning, leading life sciences organizations are using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop scalable, global, predictable, and secure solutions to modernize clinical trials while mitigating risks

[Whitepaper] The Unexpected Key to Building Value in Drug Discovery and Development

Small or emerging pharmaceutical and biotech companies pursuing novel molecules and targets have two important goals: achieve clinical success and attract new rounds of funding. While there’s never a guarantee of either, certain actions can influence the outcome in your favor.

[Executive Summary] Clinical Supplies - Made to Order

Learn how recent innovations in demand-led supply and direct-to-patient distribution are converging to create a next-generation clinical supply chain that is flexible, lean and most importantly patient-centric.

[Whitepaper] Digital Twins: Creating Digital Operations Today to Deliver Business Value Tomorrow

This whitepaper highlights the challenges of implementing the right digital twin strategy while providing key use cases in the manufacturing domain for which a digital twin is extremely useful and several examples of technology trends that will shape the future.

[Q&A] Embarking Upon the Commercial Manufacturing Journey for a Biologic

In this Q&A, four Catalent Biologics experts share how scale-up, regulatory expectations, demand forecasting and process validation all play a role in the success of a biologic when embarking upon the commercial manufacturing journey.

Events