Merck pens $1.9B fibroblast collab

Today’s Big News

Oct 8, 2024

J&J stops phase 3 trial of $5B bladder cancer prospect after interim review flop


Sage scraps Alzheimer's program as dalzanemdor goes 0 for 2, leaving hopes resting on Huntington's


Merck & Co. signs $1.9B deal with Mestag to explore fibroblast therapies for inflammation


City Therapeutics breaks ground with $135M and blueprints from RNAi expert John Maraganore  


Astellas pays $50M for option on AviadoBio's dementia gene therapy 


Black Diamond reshuffles execs, drops phase 1 lung cancer drug to conserve cash


PTC puts Friedreich ataxia drug's past failures in the rearview with long-term data drop

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Featured

J&J stops phase 3 trial of $5B bladder cancer prospect after interim review flop

The sun has set on Johnson & Johnson’s SunRISe-2 study. J&J called a halt to the phase 3 bladder cancer trial after an interim look at the data showed the TAR-200 candidate was no better than chemoradiation.
 

Top Stories

Sage scraps Alzheimer's program as dalzanemdor goes 0 for 2, leaving hopes resting on Huntington's

Sage Therapeutics has seen another clinical trial go up in smoke. The biotech called time on its plans to develop dalzanemdor in Alzheimer’s disease after seeing midphase data, adding to an earlier Parkinson’s flop and leaving the team looking to an upcoming readout in Huntington’s to rescue the prospect.

Merck & Co. signs $1.9B deal with Mestag to explore fibroblast therapies for inflammation

Mestag has been working to change how fibroblasts are activated and how they expand. Now, Merck & Co. wants in—penning a $1.9 billion biobucks deal to collaborate on new therapies for inflammatory diseases.

City Therapeutics breaks ground with $135M and blueprints from RNAi expert John Maraganore

A new RNAi biotech is breaking ground with $135 million and John Maraganore, Ph.D., holding the key to the city.

Astellas pays $50M for option on AviadoBio's dementia gene therapy

Astellas has turned to AviadoBio to further boost its gene therapy pipeline, paying the British biotech $50 million in equity and upfront cash for a dementia candidate in phase 1.

Black Diamond reshuffles execs, drops phase 1 lung cancer drug to conserve cash

Black Diamond Therapeutics has deprioritized one of its two clinical-stage lung cancer contenders, jettisoned two executives and alluded to further layoffs in order to keep the money flowing to its lead candidate.

PTC puts Friedreich ataxia drug's past failures in the rearview with long-term data drop

Several months after forging a path forward for its Friedreich ataxia drug vatiquinone, PTC Therapeutics is back with some much-needed good news. PTC’s drug candidate passed muster by hitting pre-specified endpoints in two separate Friedreich ataxia (FA) long-term extension studies, the company said.

Merck's Keytruda stages comeback in head and neck cancer with trial win in earlier-stage disease

Merck & Co. hopes a new positive readout can return Keytruda to glory in head and neck cancer about two years after a prior failure.

AstraZeneca heads to regulators after Airsupra asthma trial stops early thanks to 'overwhelming efficacy'

After winning a first-in-class nod for its two-drug inhaler Airsupra last January, AstraZeneca is bolstering the rescue treatment’s clinical package with new data showing it can cut the risk of asthma exacerbations regardless of patients’ disease severity.

Florida hospitals again evacuating patients ahead of 2nd hurricane in 2 weeks

Facing a second major storm within two weeks, some hospitals on Florida's Gulf Coast are again closing up shop and transferring patients across the state.
 
Fierce podcasts

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Breaking down BIOSECURE—Industry implications and what comes next

This week on "The Top Line," Fierce Pharma’s Fraiser Kansteiner and Arnold & Porter’s Dan Kracov break down the BIOSECURE Act's potential impact on the life sciences industry and what comes next after the House of Representatives' recent vote.
 

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