The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has announced funding for three experimental Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidates currently in preclinical development. Bundibugyo is the ebolavirus species responsible for the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo ad Uganda, but no licensed vaccine is currently available for this species, and none is in clinical development.
Eli Lilly and Co has announced plans to invest up to $3.83 billion to buy three companies developing candidate vaccines, effectively charting new territory in the field of infectious disease. Announced on 26 May, the acquisitions include Curevo Inc and Vaccine Company Inc of the US, and LimmaTech Biologics AG of Switzerland.
AstraZeneca Plc has reported trial data for a new combination therapy directed against muscle-invasive bladder cancer which showed improvements in event-free survival for the patients concerned. The muscle-invasive disease is estimated to affect one in four people with bladder cancer and arises when a tumour invades the bladder’s muscle wall. The standard treatment for these patients is surgery, with or without an adjuvant treatment.
A small molecule inhibitor of the mutated RAS protein, a high priority cancer target, has successfully delivered a significant overall survival benefit for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The results were obtained in a Phase 3 trial of the RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib and reported on 13 April. The developer is Revolution Medicines Inc, a clinical-stage US biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of RAS-addicted cancers. These are cancers that are dependent on mutant RAS activity for their survival.
Eli Lilly and Company signalled its intention to broaden its neuroscience portfolio on 31 March with the planned acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals Plc, a Nasdaq-listed developer of treatments for sleep-wake disorders. Centessa is developing a pipeline of orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists. The lead product, cleminorexton, is in Phase 2a clinical studies for the treatment of two types of narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia, all chronic neurological disorders affecting sleep.
Immunic Inc, a US-based biotech with a research arm in Germany, announced the awarding of a key patent by the European Patent Office on 10 March, strengthening its position ahead of the anticipated commercialisation of its lead product vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) for multiple sclerosis. Vidofludimus is currently in Phase 3 with top line data expected at the end of 2026. If the data are positive, a regulatory review would follow.
The Roche Group announced on 9 March that one of five trials of a Phase 3 development programme for giredestrant, a small molecule drug for breast cancer, failed to demonstrate progression-free survival. The Phase 3 trial, persevERA, was being conducted globally in 992 patients with oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer. Giredestrant was being tested as a first-line therapy in combination with palbociclip (Ibrance), an approved cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor.
France-based Abivax SA has disclosed evidence that obefazimod, its small molecule drug candidate for inflammatory bowel disease and the subsets Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, has shown evidence of anti-fibrotic activity. This has been illustrated in both preclinical human fibroblast and in vivo animal models of the disease. The data were presented at the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization’s 21st Annual Congress in Stockholm on 21 February.
A vaccine developed by GSK Plc and approved for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) appears to have a wider benefit, according to a retrospective study of patients who have received the drug. The study results were presented at a conference in Italy on 17 February. The vaccine, Arexvy, protects against respiratory syncytial virus which causes infections in the lungs and respiratory tract. The virus is common but the effects are most serious for young children and older adults.
Follicular lymphoma is a type of slow-growing blood cancer affecting B lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that plays a critical role in immunity. There are many types of lymphomas but follicular is distinctive because of its tendency to grow slowly, starting in the follicules of lymph nodes and then expanding outwards. There are multiple approaches for treating the disease including an early observational phase known as ‘watch and wait’ where physicians monitor patients to identify symptoms that could justify a pharmaceutical treatment.