ADVERTISEMENT
Log in here to read the desired article.
ADVERTISEMENT
This author has not written his bio yet.
But we are proud to say that Georg Kääb contributed 145 entries already.
Australian radiopharma company Telix Pharmaceuticals has agreed to acquire Munich-based ITM Isotope Technologies for an initial $1.65 billion (€1.44 billion), combining Telix’s commercial radiopharma business with one of Europe’s largest producers of therapeutic radioisotopes.
New data from the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Seoul are giving BioNTech’s oncology strategy more substance beyond its mRNA platform. Gotistobart has shown a marked survival benefit in previously treated squamous NSCLC, while the company’s leading bispecific antibody pumitamig continues to generate encouraging signals across tumor types and in combination with an antibody-drug conjugate. The key question now is whether these early signals can translate into registrational success.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing German Ethris with €30 million to advance clinical development of its mRNA-based antiviral candidate ETH47. The Munich-based RNA specialist has been working on the approach for several years. The EIB financing also highlights a persistent challenge in pandemic preparedness: broad-spectrum antivirals may have substantial societal value, but their commercial market is difficult to predict.
Novartis has suffered another pipeline setback after del-desiran, an antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate acquired with Avidity Biosciences, failed to significantly improve hand function over placebo in the Phase 3 HARBOR study in myotonic dystrophy type 1.
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), a state located in the North-West of Germany, is investing €200 million to connect university hospitals in Aachen, Bochum, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Essen, Cologne and Münster, as well as the Technical University Dortmund in an AI network for cancer medicine.
Novartis could pay up to $3.223 billion (€2.8 billion) for access to Alteogen’s technology for turning intravenous biologics into subcutaneous drugs. Behind the eye-catching figure is more than patient convenience: Drug delivery is becoming an increasingly important tool for lifecycle management and emerging drug classes.
Swiss biotech NovaGo Therapeutics has raised CHF 24 million ($30 million/€25.5 million) in a Series B round to advance its lead anti-Nogo-A antibody into a randomized proof-of-concept study in patients with acute spinal cord injury. The financing was co-led by Neurimmune and Pureos, with participation from existing and new investors. The round is complemented by non-dilutive funding from the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation and Wings for Life.
Novartis has paused eight clinical trials of its CD19 CAR-T therapy rap-cel after three patients died from a severe immune reaction. The studies are evaluating the therapy in autoimmune and neurological diseases including lupus, systemic sclerosis, myositis and multiple sclerosis. The move highlights the safety challenges of taking CAR-T beyond oncology into chronic immune-mediated diseases.
German biotech Heidelberg Pharma and China-based Huadong Medicine are drawing ever closer: What began as a licensing partnership has developed into an alliance spanning capital investment, joint ADC development and clinical research. Now, up to six new targets are being added, making the partnership increasingly strategic.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is providing Egyptian biopharmaceutical company Minapharm with up to $16.5 million (€14 million) to advance another vaccine candidate against Bundibugyo Ebola virus into clinical development. The candidate was developed by Minapharm’s Berlin-based subsidiary ProBioGen using its proprietary MVA-CR19 platform. A Phase I trial is planned in Africa, with the broader aim of helping the continent build the capacity to respond rapidly to emerging outbreaks.