Drug Discovery World

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024

With an initial investment of £28 million in resources and funding, LifeArc and Cancer Research UK have launched a new initiative to develop medicines exclusively for children’s and young people’s cancers. C-Further will bring together researchers, clinicians, scientists and industry to provide support, finance and expertise.

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Drug Discovery World

MARCH 27, 2024

Scientists have discovered how breast cancer cells can ‘hibernate’ to avoid treatment and ‘wake up’ years later – causing a relapse that is more difficult to treat. To reduce their risk of relapse, patients undergo five to ten years of hormone therapy to target any remaining cancer cells.

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Drug Discovery World

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Bristol-Myers Squibb has received manufacturing and marketing approval in Japan for Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel) as a third-line therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). We remain committed to researching and developing innovative therapies to transform patient lives with serious diseases through science.”

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Drug Discovery World

OCTOBER 25, 2023

iOnctura, a clinical-stage biotech developing selective cancer therapies against targets that play critical roles in multiple tumour survival pathways, has published new research data in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research, that supports a strategy of combining autotaxin inhibitor IOA-289 with TGF-β pathway inhibitor IOA-359.

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Drug Discovery World

DECEMBER 4, 2023

Qnovia has announced positive results from its first in-human study of QN-01, an inhaled smoking cessation therapy. QN-01 is currently being evaluated in the US by the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

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Drug Discovery World

DECEMBER 18, 2023

University College London (UCL) researchers have developed a new gene therapy to cure focal cortical dysplasia, which a new study shows can significantly reduce seizures in mice. The researchers plan to conduct a first-in-human clinical trial in the next five years.

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Drug Discovery World

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

The first UK patients have received an mRNA cancer therapy – mRNA-4359 – as part of a Phase I/II clinical trial investigating its potential for treating melanoma, lung cancer and other solid tumour cancers. The study will assess the therapy administered alone or in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab.

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 28, 2024

DDW’s Megan Thomas looks at a day in the life of Dr Joanne Taylor , Senior Vice President and Head of Discovery Research at Gain Therapeutics. MT: Can you provide a top line summary of your research? JT: Unfortunately, there are no approved disease modifying therapies for Parkinson’s disease, only symptomatic treatments.

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Drug Discovery World

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

An international team of scientists has shown that a stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) could prevent further damage to the brain. The early-stage clinical trial was the result of a collaboration between researchers at University of Colorado Anschutz Campus, the University of Cambridge and the University of Milano-Bicocca. “We

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 6, 2024

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have “remarkable potential” to improve cancer treatment and patient outcomes within the next five to 10 years, according to a new study by Flinders University in Australia. We’ve also discovered that high levels of circRNAs in certain people can cause mutations in their DNA which results in leukaemia.”

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Drug Discovery World

SEPTEMBER 2, 2024

DDW’s Megan Thomas discusses the future of the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector with industry experts, who predict what to expect in 2024 and beyond. This paired with next generation sequencing technologies helping to identify potential gene therapy candidates for more effective and targeted interventions will be powerful.

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 11, 2023

million into the fund, which will support the progression of new technologies and treatments for emerging viral threats and neglected tropical diseases. LifeArc will also join the LSTM-led Infection Innovation Consortium iiCON, making its platform to progress antibody-based treatments available to partners.

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Drug Discovery World

JULY 22, 2024

Keir Loiacono , CEO of BlueSphere Bio, discusses the goals of the company’s lead programme, the opportunities and potential of T-cell receptor (TCR) T cell therapies, and how to make oncology therapies tailored to individuals a reality. The goals of TCX-101 BlueSphere’s lead programme, TCX-101, includes two goals.

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Drug Discovery World

DECEMBER 5, 2022

Scientists have unlocked key insights into virus evolution, revealing new information that could help develop treatments for a wide variety of genetic diseases. . The research focuses on a group of small, ubiquitous viruses called ‘parvoviruses’ (from the Latin word ‘ parvus’ meaning ‘small’, ‘puny’ or ‘unimportant’).

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 7, 2023

Evox Therapeutics has agreed a research collaboration and option agreement with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Icahn Mount Sinai) in New York, NY, US. The collaboration will work on developing exosome-encapsulated AAV (exoAAV) vectors as a novel gene delivery technology aimed at improving treatments for heart disease.

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 28, 2024

Pfizer has expanded its strategic partnership with Flagship Pioneering, adding two new research programmes with Flagship-founded Quotient Therapeutics. “With our deep cardiometabolic heritage, we will continue to push the boundaries of research innovation to help address significant gaps in care that remain for these patients.”

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Drug Discovery World

MARCH 24, 2023

Israeli researchers have developed a drug that is effective in treating a rare genetic muscle disease. Other patients, some of whom are already in late stages of the disease, are awaiting treatment. The researchers estimate that there are dozens to hundreds of people that could benefit from the effective life-saving treatment.

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Drug Discovery World

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

DDW Editor Reece Armstrong speaks to Dr Paul Song , MD, NKGen and Dr Vince DeOrchis , clinician, to find out more about the investigational natural killer therapy SNK01 and the benefit of using a patient’s own cells to treat Alzheimer’s. RA: What are the clinical benefits of using the patient’s own cells as a treatment?

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Drug Discovery World

JUNE 6, 2024

With the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting , taking place from 30 May to 3 June, the drug discovery announcements have been coming thick and fast, with many new cancer therapies making significant strides forward in our ability to treat the disease.

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 22, 2024

She discusses with DDW’s Megan Thomas the company’s lead programme; a gene therapy called ER-100. Life Biosciences’ gene therapy approach differs from traditional gene replacement and gene editing approaches in that the company are not altering the DNA sequence.

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 20, 2024

The company says the data support the potential clinical use of opaganib for the prevention and therapy of Type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related disorders. The studies showed the benefit of opaganib therapy in suppression of HFD-induced body weight gain, loss of glucose tolerance and fat deposition.

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Drug Discovery World

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Positive Phase I trial data indicates that Reqorsa (quaratusugene ozeplasmid) has shown early efficacy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Developed by gene therapy company Genprex, Reqorsa is a non-viral gene therapy that leads to expression of the TUSC2 tumour suppressor gene in cancers. “The

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 21, 2024

Dr Andrea O’Hara, Senior Product Manager at Azenta Life Sciences asks why integration site analysis (ISA) is critical for the safety and efficacy of viral vectors for gene therapy. Cell and gene therapies have revolutionised how clinicians treat a variety of diseases including cancer, blindness, and metabolic disorders.

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Drug Discovery World

JUNE 19, 2024

New research has uncovered how different people respond to sepsis based on their genetics, which could lead to the development of targeted therapies. The ultimate aim is for patients to receive the most effective treatment for their sepsis more quickly, based on their immune response rather than their symptoms.

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Drug Discovery World

JULY 5, 2024

ASPIRE-FTD is evaluating investigational gene therapy AVB-101 in people with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with progranulin (GRN) gene mutations (FTD-GRN). Targeted, minimally-invasive delivery AVB-101 is delivered as a one-time-only treatment using a minimally invasive, stereotactic neurosurgical procedure directly to the thalamus.

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Drug Discovery World

JANUARY 12, 2024

Researchers in the US have discovered that a type of immune cell in the human body known to be important for allergy and other immune responses can also attack cancer. In previous research focused on mouse cells, ILC2s had not consistently shown promise when tested for their cancer-killing abilities.

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Drug Discovery World

JANUARY 18, 2024

Market opportunity estimated at over US$1 billion Largely due to the CRS risk (which can be life threatening), administration of cancer immunotherapies, such as bispecific antibodies, is currently restricted to specialist cancer centres which limits uptake of these therapies. million cases of cancer by 2030 1,2.

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Drug Discovery World

APRIL 21, 2023

New study results have demonstrated the potential of a new drug to reprogramme the immune profile in the tumour microenvironment (TME) and convert resistant tumours to responders to Immune Checkpoint Blockage (ICB) therapies. The study was led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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Drug Discovery World

MAY 2, 2024

Hailed as a revolution in the treatment of many diseases, cell and gene therapy (CGT) is the fastest growing area of therapeutics. The post Cell and gene therapy: Global Innovation and Opportunity appeared first on Drug Discovery World (DDW). 2024 is potentially shaping up to break this record.

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 8, 2024

Two veteran advocacy organisations, Reason for Hope and the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition, have issued a joint statement urging the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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Drug Discovery World

MARCH 4, 2024

In this first-in-human multicentre, open-label study conducted at nine study sites in Australia and China, Phase Ia involved monotherapy dose-escalation (Part 1), which was followed by Phase Ib combination therapy dose escalation (Part 2) and expansion (Part 3). Various dosing schedules of CS1002 (0.3,

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 22, 2024

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved lazertinib (Lazcluze) in combination with amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant) for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The median PFS was 23.7 months in the lazertinib with amivantamab arm and 16.6 months in the osimertinib arm.

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Drug Discovery World

AUGUST 29, 2024

The US Parkinson’s Foundation has invested nearly $3 million for 33 grants to accelerate Parkinson’s disease (PD) research. The research grants will fund scientists conducting studies across various aspects of PD to bring forward new therapies, treatments, and ultimately a cure for the disease.

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Drug Discovery World

JANUARY 23, 2023

Over the three days of Advanced Therapies Week (ATW) 2023 in Miami, Florida, US, from 18 to 20 January, DDW’s Megan Thomas heard from attendees about what they were most looking forward to learning from the event, as well as why they think the potential of cell and gene therapies outweighs the obstacles that must be overcome to achieve it.

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Drug Discovery World

JULY 5, 2024

Amgen has reported positive topline results from its randomised, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of its treatment for Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD). ” Amgen is now planning to file for approval in the US following results on the MITIGATE study.

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Drug Discovery World

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

A new cooperative network designed to foster collaboration and boost the sharing of knowledge and expertise for the UK’s advanced therapies sector has been launched. Matthew Durdy, Chief Executive of the CGT Catapult, said:   “Scotland has a strong life sciences sector.

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Drug Discovery World

MARCH 26, 2024

DDW’s Megan Thomas caught up with Oliver Rausch, Chief Scientific Officer at Storm Therapeutics, following the ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies Congress 2024, a global meeting focusing on promising new anticancer targets and agents, focusing on those in early phase clinical development. MT: What’s next for STORM’s research?

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