Pear sells assets for $6M after bankruptcy filing

Today's Big News

May 19, 2023

Moderna, looking beyond vaccines, guides first mRNA protein replacement therapy past early clinical test


AbbVie, Genmab's lymphoma drug Epkinly snags FDA approval in heated blood cancer race 


Pear pulped: Digital therapeutics maker’s assets sold for $6M at auction after bankruptcy filing


Thermo Fisher’s biomarker blood tests to spot preeclampsia risk are first to win FDA nod


FDA committee backs Pfizer's RSV shot for maternal population, though safety concerns remain


At request of FTC, Amgen agrees to delay closure of $27.8B Horizon acquisition until September 


Paradromics reels in $33M, FDA breakthrough tag for mind-reading brain implant

 

Featured

Moderna, looking beyond vaccines, guides first mRNA protein replacement therapy past early clinical test

Moderna has early clinical evidence that its mRNA technology can treat a rare disease by replacing intracellular proteins. Participants in the phase 1/2 trial experienced a 66% overall relative risk reduction in the frequency of life-threatening events, encouraging the biotech to keep studying the candidate.
 

Top Stories

AbbVie, Genmab's lymphoma drug Epkinly snags FDA approval in heated blood cancer race

AbbVie and Genmab's CD20-targeted bispecific epcoritamab has won an FDA blessing in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The drug boasts what analysts view as a best-in-class profile against potential competition from Roche and Regeneron.

Pear pulped: Digital therapeutics maker’s assets sold for $6M at auction after bankruptcy filing

Less than two years after Pear Therapeutics went public in a SPAC deal worth $1.6 billion—which in turn came after the digital therapeutics maker had raised more than $400 million in venture capital—its assets were sold in an auction this week for just over $6 million.

Thermo Fisher’s biomarker blood tests to spot preeclampsia risk are first to win FDA nod

A pair of newly FDA-cleared blood tests from Thermo Fisher Scientific could be a major boon in the early detection and treatment of preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that can endanger both the mother and fetus—and one that’s risen in prevalence in the U.S. in recent years.

FDA committee backs Pfizer's RSV shot for maternal population, though safety concerns remain

Pfizer’s RSV shot has won the support of an FDA advisory committee for use in pregnant people to protect infants, but lingering concerns remain from a few members that couldn’t back the vaccine’s safety.

At request of FTC, Amgen agrees to delay closure of $27.8B Horizon acquisition until September

Amgen has complied with an FTC request for a temporary restraining order, agreeing not to close its proposed $27.8 billion deal to acquire Horizon Therapeutics right away. The move comes in response to the FTC filing an antitrust lawsuit earlier this week which is attempting to block the deal.

Paradromics reels in $33M, FDA breakthrough tag for mind-reading brain implant

Though the current conversation about brain-computer interfaces is largely dominated by two companies—Synchron, with a minimally invasive implant already in human trials, and Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which has faced a series of setbacks in its own race to the clinic—they’re not the only ones developing implants aimed at decoding neurological signals.

DMD gene therapy death exposes risks of treating older patients

Cure Rare Disease has shared a deep dive into the death of the only participant in a gene therapy trial. The nonprofit and its collaborators tied the death of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient to their immune reaction to the viral vector, raising concerns about dosing older, more advanced people.

AbbVie's Rinvoq scores its 7th FDA nod, this one for Crohn's disease

AbbVie scored its seventh FDA approval for Rinvoq in a span of less than four years, getting the JAK inhibitor across the FDA finish line as a treatment for Crohn’s disease.

Abbott snags FDA nod for insertable cardiac monitor that can stay in place for up to 6 years

Many insertable cardiac monitors, known as ICMs or loop recorders, are already able to stay in place under the skin for several years at a time, enabling long-term tracking of irregular heartbeats—but Abbott has upped the ante.

ASGCT 2023: Rocket's hematology programs blast off toward regulators

As the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy annual meeting draws to a close, Rocket Pharmaceuticals spotlighted three ongoing clinical programs for patients with blood disorders, two of which are nearing regulators’ desk. 
 
Fierce podcasts

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‘The Top Line’: 2023’s biopharma layoffs, plus the headlines

This week on "The Top Line," we''ll discuss the recent biopharma layoff trends, plus Elizabeth Holmes, Sarepta Therapeutics, Abbott's FDA approval, and the rest of the week's headlines.

 

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