Cancer vaccines specialist Infinitopes Precision Immunomics Ltd. announced the closing of a £12.8 million (US$16.1 million) seed round and outlined plans to start a phase I/IIa study of the lead program in the third quarter of this year.
The Australian government is investing AU$1.89 billion (US$1.25 billion) in what it is calling a “once-in-a generation transformation” of health and medical research in Australia with $1.4 billion tagged for new research for the Medical Research Future Fund.
Australia is poised to play a leading role in the rise of the global radiopharmaceutical industry, as advanced therapies drive significant investment and rapid expansion, according to a new discussion paper from industry accelerator Mtpconnect.
Achieving proof of concept and a substantial clinical benefit with its PARP inhibitor stenoparib in advanced recurrent ovarian cancer, Allarity Therapeutics Inc. stopped a phase II trial and is preparing for a registrational study for what is now the company’s only internal drug candidate.
Novartis AG is bolstering its radioligand arsenal with the takeout of Mariana Oncology Inc. for $1 billion up front and as much as $750 million in potential milestone payments. Watertown, Mass.-based Mariana has developed peptide-based radiopharmaceuticals targeting solid tumors. The company’s lead program, MC-339, is a radioligand approach to small-cell lung cancer, due to enter the clinic later this year.
As Poseida Therapeutics Inc. anticipates reporting further data this year from allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy P-MUC1C-ALLO1, for which Astellas Pharma Inc. has nabbed first negotiation rights, the two companies inked a second deal aimed at combining their respective cell therapy platforms in an early stage collaboration targeting solid tumors.
“A white space opportunity.” That’s how Enlaza Therapeutics Inc. co-founder and CEO Sergio Duron described to BioWorld the company’s efforts to develop the first covalent biologics, an endeavor that has gained the backing of an impressive group of investors in a recently closed $100 million series A round.
The BioWorld Cancer Index (BCI) closed out the first quarter of 2024 with a 4.66% increase, slightly down from its 11.07% rise at the end of February. This comes after an outstanding performance in 2023, when it finished the year up by 76.26%. Despite outperforming the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, which rose by 1.36% in Q1, BCI lagged behind the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which saw a 5.62% increase in the first three months of the year. In contrast, BCI experienced a decline of 41.98% in 2022 and a 36.34% decrease in 1021.
Ten days early, the U.S. FDA granted full approval under priority review to Pfizer Inc. and Genmab A/S’s antibody-drug conjugate Tivdak (tisotumab vedotin) to treat cervical cancer.
Orum Therapeutics Inc., of Boston and Daejeon, South Korea, is planning for an IPO on the Korea Exchange by the end of 2024, having passed a technology evaluation required for listing on the Kosdaq, a company spokesperson confirmed to BioWorld.