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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Partnered and backed by AbbVie, but cancer I-O biotech Tizona targeted by Gilead

Gilead is continuing its low-cost sweep-up of small oncology biotechs as it lands a deal to buy Tizona Therapeutics.

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Top Stories

Novartis dumps Ziarco eczema drug, taking $485M hit

Novartis cut an atopic dermatitis drug from the team—and it did it on the down low. Buried in its second-quarter financial report is a line revealing that the Swiss pharma is taking at $485 million impairment charge for halting clinical development on an eczema program it picked up in its 2016 Ziarco buyout.

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Hope, hype and pandemic vaccines: We're not there yet

Vaccines are not big money spinners: They are typically under the radar R&D and commercial products, there in the background quietly and generally quite cheaply savings billions of lives while we all get excited about a few partial responses from a next-gen cancer drug that will cost as much as the average house.

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Sponsored: Rise in Targeted Therapies Drives Need for Flexible Small-Volume Manufacturing

Ensuring cohesion between drug substance chemists & drug product formulators is critical to manage risks & maximize rewards of transforming less soluble & bioavailable molecules into effective drugs.

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We're looking for 2020's Fiercest Women in Life Sciences

Each year at Fierce, we spotlight women who are leading the way in biotech, pharma and medtech. Be sure to submit your nominations by 11:59 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 17, for consideration in this year’s list.

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Merck taps contract research firm IRBM for peptides to hit back at pandemic virus

Big Pharma Merck has been pretty quiet on its R&D for COVID-19, but while keen to keep hype to a minimum, its research work in the background has been growing.

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'Gene therapy engine' Forge debuts with $40M and Tim Miller at the helm

Six months after departing Abeona, Tim Miller, Ph.D., is on his next chapter: Forge Biologics, a gene therapy biotech that’s providing manufacturing and development services to other companies while working on its own pipeline. To fuel this dual mission, Forge picked up $40 million from the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund and Drive Capital.

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CureVac closes $640M investment amid COVID-19 vaccine race

CureVac has closed a $640 million private financing round. The raising of the round, which is larger than all CureVac’s previously disclosed financings combined, comes as the biotech races to bring a mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to market.

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Roche, Jnana take aim at metabolite transporters in $40M discovery deal

Roche has another drug discovery deal on the books. This time, it’s with Jnana Therapeutics, the biotech targeting a family of more than 400 metabolite transporters with small molecules. The Big Pharma is handing over $40 million upfront but is promising a billion more in the usual development and commercialization milestones, as well as royalties.

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Tubulis raises A round to advance next-gen ADC programs

Tubulis has raised a €10.7 million ($12.3 million) series A round to advance antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The German biotech will use the money to build on research that identified linker chemistry that may be more stable than the technology used in ADCs such as Seattle Genetics’ Adcetris.

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Philips sees medtech sales drop, connected care demand rise in the face of COVID-19

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the landscape for medtech companies over the past several months, and Philips’ second-quarter earnings report illustrates those changes in stark relief.

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Resources

Whitepaper: High-Loaded Dosage Forms: Novel Platform Expands Spray-Dried Dispersion Utility

A novel spray-dried dispersion platform has been developed to faciliate high drug load applications

Whitepaper: How to Harness the eISF to Accelerate Clinical Operations

Complimentary Download: How to connect to study sites remotely via the Electronic Investigator Site File (eISF) to streamline clinical operations. Insights from the largest eISF network in the world.

Whitepaper: Learn How to Navigate Pediatric Clinical Trials Under the New RACE Act

Collaboration across the industry will be key to meeting the demands of the RACE Act and ensuring pediatric patients receive the care and treatments they need.

On-Demand Webinar: Fuel gene therapy development and production with modern AAV workflows

On-demand video: fuel gene therapy development and production with modern AAV workflows.

Whitepaper How to Select the Right Data Partner to Benefit Your Business | Buyer's Guide

With today’s rapidly evolving environment, we have created this five-part content series to highlight pressing issues and topics that are more pertinent today than ever before.

eBook: Cambrex eBook - Small molecules: 2020 vision

The industry trend of outsourcing to CDMOs continues. With more services, capabilities, facilities, and employees than ever before, our experts have contributed more articles to our biggest eBook yet.

White Paper: Patient Switching Behaviors Impact on Adherence and Engagement: A Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning Approach to Improving Hub Performance and Patient Outcomes

How predictive analytics and machine learning have the potential to transform healthcare by predicting “Patient Switching Behaviors.”

Whitepaper: You've Decided on a Multiparticulate Dosage Form. Now What?

Wurster processing is a versatile technique for developing and manufacturing multiparticulates for modified release dosage forms. Read this whitepaper to determine whether Wurster processing is the right option for your project.

Webinar: Blockchain Innovations that Connect & Protect Merck's Supply Chain

Get an inside look… Merck shares its next-generation approach to supply chain protection with new digital platforms, including Blockchain.

eBook: SUPERCHARGE INNOVATION: UNLEASH THE FULL FORCE OF LIFE SCIENCES

Built on advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), data mining, and information integration into various systems at 100% accuracy, the new era of intelligent automation is integral to life sciences for devising new treatments faster and at a lower expense.

Case Study: Establishing Parameters for Success

Learn about a real-world example of how clinical supply management expertise was applied to overcome inventory challenges for a complex, global study.

Fact Sheet: Forecasting to Optimize Clinical Trial Supply Management

Whether a study is simple or highly complex, forecasting and simulation reports serve as data driven communication tools to help minimize risks and keep the study on track. Learn more about forecasting solutions for informed decision making and supporting contingency planning for clinical study.

eBook: Expecting the Unexpected: Strategies for Efficient Clinical Supply Management and Forecasting

Learn how to drive excellence within the forecasting process and utilize forecasting throughout the clinical study to better plan clinical supply budgets and project timelines. Explore how to identify potential supply-related issues before they can negatively impact your study.

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