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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Lilly adds on to biomarker bombardment in Alzheimer's with two new donanemab analyses

Ever since the FDA approved Biogen and Eisai’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aduhelm, the buzzword in Alzheimer’s has been “biomarker.” And that’s just what Eli Lilly has to offer with two new analyses on their candidate donanemab. Lilly rolled out the new exploratory analyses of a phase 2 clinical trial called Trailblazer at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference Thursday.

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Top Stories

Surprise! Pfizer jumps the queue and leaps into RSV vax contention as COVID helps turbo charge work

Watch out GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer is steaming into the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine race in what looks like a late break that could soon become gold.

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Another day, another billion-dollar deal for PeptiDream, this time with Alnylam

Apparently a licensing agreement with Takeda worth a potential $3.5 billion wasn’t enough for PeptiDream this week. The biopharmaceutical company, which has a peptide-based drug discovery platform, has now inked a similar deal with Alnylam worth a potential $2.2 billion.

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Sponsored: Medical Cannabis from Colombia Can Change Lives

Medical cannabis from Colombia can change lives.

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IGM poaches Gilead cancer chief Takimoto at pivotal moment for both companies

IGM Biosciences has lured away Gilead’s oncology chief Chris Takimoto, M.D., Ph.D., to become chief medical officer, where he will oversee a pipeline of early-stage cancer assets. Takimoto will join the biotech after years working at Gilead, and before that serving as CMO at its biotech buy out Forty Seven.

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Takeda allies with Frazier to spin out late-phase norovirus vaccinei

Takeda has spun out its norovirus vaccine prospect to create a biotech: HilleVax. Frazier Healthcare Partners has teamed up with Takeda to found HilleVax, providing investor support for a program that cleared phase 2b back in 2018.

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Alector bolsters 'immuno-neurology' approach—and GSK's $700M bet—with early phase 2 data

Weeks after GlaxoSmithKline ponied up $700 million to work with Alector on a pair of “immuno-neurology” drugs, the neurodegenerative disease biotech pulled the curtain on early data showing its approach could slow the progression of an inherited form of dementia.

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Astellas to pay Minovia $20M upfront, with $420M on the table per product, for mitochondrial cell therapies

Atellas Pharma and Minovia Therapeutics are linking arms on researching and developing novel cell therapies for diseases caused by dysfunction of the mitochondria. The deal sees Astellas pay Minovia $20 million upfront with the potential for up to $420 million in biobucks for each product.

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Ardelyx's FDA rejection points to long path back for CKD drug

The FDA has hit Ardelyx’s chronic kidney disease drug candidate tenapanor with a complete response letter. Ardelyx disclosed the setback 10 days after revealing the FDA had identified concerns with the treatment effect and its clinical relevance. 

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People of color want to participate in Alzheimer's research. The NIA has a new tool to make it happen

The newly approved Alzheimer's disease drug Aduhelm was tested in mostly white individuals, and yet the disease disproportionately impacts people of color. The National Institute on Aging wants to change that with a new tool to help researchers and clinicians raise awareness and participation in their trials for the disease. 

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Immune system protein prompts obese mice to 'sweat' out fat, inspiring new treatment target

University of Pennsylvania researchers found that boosting levels of the cytokine TSLP in obese mice reduced their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and caused them to lose 44% of their weight in 28 days. The weight loss was caused by the release of oil from the skin, making the "sweating out" of fat a potential strategy in treating obesity, they suggested.

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Fierce Pharma Asia—AstraZeneca's China growth; Takeda's $3.5B neuro pact; Biocon, Viatris' historic biosimilar nod

AstraZeneca expects slower growth from its China business moving forward. Takeda signed a neurodegenerative diseases R&D pact with PeptiDream worth up to $3.5 billion. Biocon and Viatris won the first FDA interchangeable biosimilar tag for their copy of Sanofi's Lantus. And more.

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Chutes & Ladders—Bayer picks up Roche vet Ruettinger to lead early cancer R&D

Bayer named Roche oncology veteran Dominik Ruettinger, M.D., Ph.D., as head of research and early development for oncology. Bayer also made moves with subsidiary BlueRock Therapeutics promoting chief scientific officer Seth Ettenberg, Ph.D., to the role of CEO. And ex-Kiadis Chief Business Officer Ray Barlow became SynOx Therapeutics CEO.

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