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Today’s Big News

Apr 2, 2024

J&J targets rare maternal-fetal diseases: 'We're going for this. No one else has.'

Verve halts enrollment of lead trial after grade 3 side effects, prioritizing next-up PCSK9 editor

Gritstone ground down by phase 2 cancer vaccine fail, sparking race against cash to gather more data

Roivant’s inflammatory med gets back on track with phase 2 eye disease data

Ginkgo loads up CAR assets from Modulus, the latest in a string of deals

Ipsen joins ADC race via $900M biobuck deal with Sutro, chasing same target as Merck, Boehringer

Carisma lets go of 37% of staff, CAR-M candidate to stretch cash runway

In major step toward the clinic, Ring’s human viral vector delivers gene therapy to eyes of mice

'One-two punch' of epigenetic cancer drugs could knock out colorectal cancer cells

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J&J targets rare maternal-fetal diseases: 'We're going for this. No one else has.'

By Gabrielle Masson

More than 60 years after RhoGAM’s approval, Johnson & Johnson's Katie Abouzahr, M.D., is hoping to build off the pharma’s own legacy and bring another maternal fetal immunology treatment to market.

Verve halts enrollment of lead trial after grade 3 side effects, prioritizing next-up PCSK9 editor

By Max Bayer

Verve has halted enrollment in a phase 1 study testing its lead asset after a patient experienced two sets of grade 3 side effects. The focus now is on a second PCSK9 base editor, VERVE-102.

Gritstone ground down by phase 2 cancer vaccine fail, sparking race against cash to gather more data

By Nick Paul Taylor

Gritstone bio’s gamble on a novel endpoint has backfired. The cancer vaccine failed to trigger hoped-for changes in circulating tumor DNA, causing the phase 2 trial to miss its primary endpoint and leaving the biotech clinging to immature survival data.

Roivant’s inflammatory med gets back on track with phase 2 eye disease data

By Max Bayer

Roivant's brepocitinib is back in the driver's seat with new phase 2 NIU data that the company is touting as some of the best seen in the indication. The asset is rebounding from a midstage lupus failure at the end of 2023.

Ginkgo loads up CAR assets from Modulus, the latest in a string of deals

By Annalee Armstrong

Ginkgo Bioworks’ swift moving business development team is slowing down long enough to load up some new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) assets from Modulus Therapeutics.

Ipsen joins ADC race via $900M biobuck deal with Sutro, chasing same target as Merck, Boehringer

By James Waldron

Ipsen has become the newest entrant in the antibody-drug conjugate race, handing over around $90 million in near-term payments to Sutro Biopharma in return for the global rights to a preclinical candidate.

Carisma lets go of 37% of staff, CAR-M candidate to stretch cash runway

By Gabrielle Masson

Carisma Therapeutics plans to let go of 37% of staffers and drop one of two clinical assets in an effort to fuel the immunotherapy-focused biotech into the third quarter of 2025.

In major step toward the clinic, Ring’s human viral vector delivers gene therapy to eyes of mice

By Helen Floersh

Ring Therapeutics’ hunt for new human viruses that can deliver gene therapies multiple times in a single patient appears to have landed on a viable candidate, new mouse data have suggested.

'One-two punch' of epigenetic cancer drugs could knock out colorectal cancer cells

By Helen Floersh

A low dose of a DNMT inhibitor with EZH2 inhibitors induced changes in cancer cells that would make them more vulnerable to the immune system. A new clinical trial will evaluate the finding in patients.

Eko secures FDA clearance for stethoscope AI to catch low ejection fraction

By Conor Hale

Developed in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, the software can detect a key indicator of heart performance through Eko's digitally enhanced stethoscopes.

Lonza poaches CEO from rival as it prepares to reap rewards of Roche plant buy

By Angus Liu

Lonza’s search for a CEO has led the Swiss CDMO giant to its compatriot competitor, Siegfried. The appointment of Wolfgang Wienand could end a period of leadership instability marked by multiple CEO handovers since 2019.

Bavarian Nordic begins commercial launch of mpox vaccine Jynneos in US

By Angus Liu

After years relying on the U.S. government to stockpile and distribute Jynneos, Bavarian Nordic is launching the mpox vaccine into the commercial market.

Molina Healthcare, Cityblock partner to give dual eligibles increased SDOH assistance

By Noah Tong

Cityblock Health and Molina Healthcare are joining forces to provide better care to dually eligible members.

Fierce podcasts

Don’t miss an episode

'The Top Line': The top money raisers in biotech

This week on "The Top Line," we explore our annual special report on the top money raisers in the biotech industry. Which company raised the most funding in 2023? What does the biotech financing landscape look like for this year? Fierce Biotech's Annalee Armstrong and Max Bayer answer those questions and many more in today's episode.

A closer look at European biotech investment in 2024

SXSW Insights: The future of AI in healthcare

Resources

Whitepaper

Oncology Market Outlook 2024

This paper assesses the current state of the oncology market, reviewing key expectations for 2024. It addresses CAR-T therapies, KRAS, radiopharmaceuticals, & targeted protein degradation.

Presented by Blue Matter, strategic consultants in the life sciences

Whitepaper

Guidance for Biotechs Choosing Next-Gen Contract GMP/CMC Labs

Choosing the right contract lab can help drug developers accelerate their timelines and generate cost-efficiencies. For insights into what to look for when selecting a GMP/CMC lab partner read this white paper which delves into a range of factors that can support your needs in both the short-term and in planning for the future.

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