SEATTLE – Tracing the family tree of COVID-19 through its evolving DNA sequence makes it possible to disprove many false claims circulating on social media about the novel coronavirus, and, in particular, that it was generated in a covert biological weapons program. “From everything I’ve looked at, there is zero evidence for genetic engineering; it looks like normal evolution,” said Trevor Bedford, a computational biologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who has been using genomes sequences taken from patient samples to track the spread of the virus since Jan. 11.
SAN FRANCISCO – Pacing the stage at this year's China Showcase Saturday, Chinabio CEO Greg Scott sounded a touch disappointed. Last year lacked the kind of record-breaking stats he likes to punctuate with iconic explosions, a common image in his widely valued China health care talks. "Simply stated, business is continuing as normal," he said.
New and updated preclinical and clinical data related to Asia presented by biopharma firms at the 61st American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
New and updated preclinical and clinical data related to Asia presented by biopharma firms at the 61st American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
SINGAPORE – While a lot of focus is placed on phase III trials and the subsequent approvals, panelists during the ESMO Asia Congress pointed to the importance of designing the right kind of phase I trials, from reaching global populations to using appropriate endpoints.
SINGAPORE – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. presented new findings from its phase III ALTA-1L trial evaluating its Alunbrig (brigatinib) vs. crizotinib in adults with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had not received a prior ALK inhibitor, showing Alunbrig reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 76% after more than two years of follow-up.
SINGAPORE – As the ESMO Asia Congress 2019 brought 3,679 participants from all over the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to Singapore’s Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre, the focus, unsurprisingly, was on developments and challenges relevant to the oncology community.
SHANGHAI – Although China still has a way to go to approve any CAR T therapy, clinical development is robust with various targets being studied, and the regulatory environment is improving, cell therapy experts said at the Chinatrials 12 Summit.
SHANGHAI – As Chinese biotech companies talk more about innovation, one question is whether they are ready to move into first-in-class drugs from me-too and fast follow-up drugs. To biotech executives, the China first approval for Fibrogen Inc.'s roxadustat, a first-in-class small molecule for amenorrhea, is a wake-up call.