This Week in Biotech
Biotech news and clinical trial updates from July 12 to 26, 2024 and what to watch out for in the near future.
Hello and welcome to the first edition of This Week in Biotech by The Biotech Blueprint. In this first issue, I’m covering interesting developments in the biotech and pharma sectors from July 12th to July 26th. Stay tuned for the latest news, clinical trial updates, and emerging trends in the industry. Let’s dive into the highlights!
BIOTECH NEWS
🔹 Several pharmaceutical companies are actively involved in sponsoring the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris that began today. Eli Lilly has significantly expanded its sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Games.
🔹 Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical company, is a major sponsor of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both Eli Lilly and Sanofi are leveraging their Olympic sponsorships to engage their workforce, attract talent, and showcase their companies in a new light. It highlights a trend across the Pharma industry to reinvent itself in a more positive light for consumers.
🔹 On July 25, 2024 AbbVie announced it is discontinuing the solo development of a midstage Alzheimer’s disease candidate, ABBV-916, due to the evolving landscape and competitive environment in Alzheimer’s treatments.
🔹 On July 24, 2024 Merck announced significant layoffs amid a challenging job market in the pharmaceutical industry. The exact number of affected employees was not specified, but this reflects ongoing restructuring efforts in the sector. This is just one of many pharmaceutical giants announcing significant layoffs.
🔹 On July 22, 2024 Gilead and the Elton John AIDS Foundation announced a five-year extension of their RADIAN partnership to address the HIV crisis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The $25 million extension will support local organizations, expand services to populations affected by the Ukraine conflict, and focus on HIV prevention and care.
🔹 On July 16, 2024, Asceneuron announced raising $100 million to advance its Alzheimer’s candidate, ASN51. This funding aims to support further development and clinical trials.
🔹 On July 16, 2024, German biotech company CataLym raised $150 million in a Series D round to tackle cancer therapy resistance with its monoclonal antibody visugromab.
CLINICAL TRIALS UPDATE
🔹 On July 24, 2024 Pfizer reported that its gene therapy for hemophilia A reduced patients’ bleeds in a late-stage trial. However, experts suggest the results may not be significantly better than existing treatments, potentially limiting its market impact.
🔹 On July 24, 2024 Gilead presented efficacy and safety results for investigational twice-yearly injection, Lenacapavir, for HIV prevention at the AIDS 2024 conference. They reported 100% efficacy in preventing HIV in women during the Phase 3 PURPOSE 1 trial. You heard that right, 100%! The trial highlighted high adherence rates and the drug’s safety profile, presenting Lenacapavir as a potentially groundbreaking option for HIV prevention. Gilead aims for swift regulatory approval to address gaps in PrEP uptake and adherence, especially in high-incidence, resource-limited countries.
🔹 On July 24, 2024 Sage Therapeutics and Biogen reported that their experimental pill failed to reduce involuntary muscle shaking in patients with essential tremor in a clinical trial. This represents a setback in their neurological disease pipeline.
🔹 On July 23, 2024 Merck announced positive topline results from its Phase 2b/3 trial of clesrovimab (MK-1654), an investigational monoclonal antibody for preventing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants. The trial met its primary safety and efficacy endpoints, including reducing medically attended lower respiratory infections through Day 150. Detailed findings will be presented at an upcoming scientific congress, and Merck plans to submit these data to global regulatory authorities.
🔹 On July 17, 2024, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a phase 3 study investigating the efficacy and safety of once-weekly efanesoctocog alfa in children under 12 years old with severe hemophilia A. Funded by Sanofi and Sobi, the study demonstrated that the treatment effectively prevented bleeding episodes and was generally safe for this patient population.
ON THE HORIZON
🔹AbbVie Therapeutics is set to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics, enhancing its neuroscience pipeline and positioning it to compete with Bristol Myers Squibb in the treatment of schizophrenia.
🔹 Alzheon’s APOLLOE4 phase 3 clinical trial for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease is expected to report data in the third quarter. Their successful phase 2 clinical trial showed early, sustained and statistically significant reduction in plasma P-tau181 reaching 31% at 24 months. Monitoring P-tau181 levels can provide insights into the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Higher levels are typically associated with more advanced disease stages and greater cognitive impairment. Phase 2 also showed unprecedented 28% preservation of hippocampal volume compared to external control of matched subjects.
🔹 Coya Therapeutics’ phase 2 study of interleukin-2 (COYA 302) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is anticipated to announce topline data in late summer 2024.
Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend.
DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only. It should not be taken as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. The views expressed here are my own and do not reflect the opinions of any company or institution.
DISCLOSURE: I have no business relationships with any company mentioned in this article.