Mode of action of Roche's bispecific antibody emicizumab: Hemlibra bridges blood clotting factors FIXa and FX, which is normally done by FVIIIa. © Roche

The US FDA has accepted a supplemental BLA to Roche’s existing market approval of the new hemophilia A treatment Hemlibra (emicizumab), which could significantly extend the patient group covered by the label. 

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended nine medicines for approval, including two orphan medicines, at its May 2018 meeting.

An artist's illustration of a seizure discharge recorded from a slice of human epileptic brain tissue with electrodes. © E. Dossi et al., Science Translational Medicine (2018)

French researchers have found a key driver of chronic epilepsy. 

F-Star claims to be the first company that can create bispecifics that incorporate a binding site on the constant Fc region of the antibody. © EPvantage

Brain disease specialist Denali Therapeutics will buy all outstanding shares in British F-Star Gamma Ltd from F-Star instead licencing bispecific antibody candidates that can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) co-developed under an agreement dating back to 2016.

Roche announced that atezolimumab plus chemotherapy met its co-primary endpoints of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as first-line treatment of stage IV nonsquamous non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Principle of CAR-T cell therapy. © Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Interleukin 1 (IL-1) blockers may prevent serious adverse events triggered by CAR-T cell therapies, according to two independent studies.

CD38 antibodies attacking multiple myeloma cells. © Sumit Sharma/Pininterest

Following reports of an increase in mortality in a study that combined Genmab’s anti-CD38 daratumumab with a PD-L1 blocker, Genmab’s partner Janssen has stopped a study combining daratumumab with its PD1 blocker JNJ-63723283 in multiple myeloma.

Besides its RAS cancer vaccine, Targovax is testing an oncolytic virus + checkpoint inhibitor in cancer. © Targovax ASA

Targovax ASA’s cancer immunotherapy TG01 significantly prolonged 2-year overall survival of patients with resected pancreatic cancer versus standard therapy. Targovax’ shares were up 16% on Thursday evening.

The engineered SEMA3A protein markedly reduced the volume of metastatic tumors (red) in lymph nodes in mouse models of pancreatic cancer.
©  N. Gioelli et al., Science Translational Medicine (2018)

Italian oncologists have found a more effective tumour angiogenesis blocker which curbs metastasis and tumour growth. 

Molecule structure of Cara Therapeutics' pruritus candidate. © Cara Therapeutics

Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma has licenced ex-US/Japanese/Korean rights to commercialise CR845 (difelikefalin) from Cara Therapeutics for the treatment of chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP).