Drug Discovery

GSK, Regeneron to mine gene data from 500000 volunteer participants in UK

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced a major research initiative among the Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC), U.K. Biobank and GSK to generate genetic sequence data from the 500,000 volunteer participants in the U.K. Biobank resource.

SalvaRx to invest in Rift Biotherapeutics

SalvaRx, a subsidiary of SalvaRx Group, has agreed to invest in Delaware-based biotechnology company Rift Biotherapeutics which focuses on the development of antibodies for use in oncology.

Cell Medica raises £60m to advance multiple cancer programmes

Cellular immunotherapy company, Cell Medica has secured £60m in a Series C financing round with participation from existing investors Touchstone Innovations, funds managed by Woodford Investment Management, and funds managed by Invesco Perpetual.

PTC Therapeutics agrees to buy Marathon’s DMD drug for $140m

PTC Therapeutics has agreed to acquire all rights to Emflaza (deflazacort) from Marathon Pharmaceuticals.

Scientists link noncoding genetic variants to neurodevelopmental disorders

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and Radboud University in Nijmegen found that genetic variation in the non-coding DNA may lead to language impairments in children and other neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder.

UK’s MHRA grants early access to Sanofi’s dermatology treatment

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted Sanofi’s dupilumab, an investigational treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), a positive scientific opinion through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS).

Heat Biologics to acquire controlling stake in Pelican Therapeutics

Heat Biologics has agreed to buy an 80% controlling stake in Pelican Therapeutics, a privately held immuno-oncology company engaged in the development of agonists to TNFRSF25, a differentiated T cell costimulatory receptor.

FDA accepts Advaxis’ IND for personalized neoepitope immunotherapy ADXS-NEO

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Advaxis’ Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ADXS-NEO, a personalized neoantigen-targeted approach to cancer immunotherapy that is being developed in partnership with Amgen.

Abzena, UCL secure £3.5m grant from MRC for autoimmune therapy research

A research group from University College London's (UCL) Centre for Rheumatology has been awarded a £3.5m grant from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to advance the development of a novel treatment for anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) based on Abzena's conjugation technology.