News

A new medicine for multiple myeloma has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration giving patients whose disease is resistant to several other drugs, an option for treatment. The small molecule drug, Xpovio (selinexor), can now be used by patients who have received at least four other therapies, but without success. Resistance in these patients has been shown to proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory agents and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.

MorphoSys AG has upgraded its financial guidance for 2019 following a decision by GlaxoSmithKline Plc to start Phase 3 trials of one of its antibodies. This triggers a €22 million milestone payment to MorphoSys. The German company now expects revenue this year will be between €65-72 million, up from €43-50 million previously, and its loss before interest and tax to narrow to €105-115 million from €127-137 million previously.

The Belgian drug discovery company Confo Therapeutics NV has linked up with a technology provider in Germany to identify a small molecule compound that could modulate an undisclosed G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) for the purpose of treating disease. Companies have been working for years to effectively target GPCRs, a family of membrane proteins that are involved in a wide range of biological processes and disorders.  

The charity Cancer Research UK is to invest $25 million in a biotechnology fund managed by SV Health Investors as part of a partnership aimed at accelerating the development of new oncology drugs.

Under the arrangement, Cancer Research UK will provide at least $25 million to SV Health Investors’ seventh venture capital fund which is expected to raise $250 million. About 60% of the fund’s new capital will be invested in oncology or oncology-related projects.

Scott Gottlieb, the former Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, has been elected to the board of Pfizer Inc where he will also serve on the board’s regulatory and compliance and science and technology committees.

Children 10 years and older will be eligible for treatment with Victoza (liraglutide), a non-insulin medication for Type 2 diabetes, assuming a positive opinion by the European Medicines Agency is cleared by the European Commission. The positive opinion was issued on 28 June, extending Victoza’s indication to children and adolescents with Type 2 diabetes. It is already approved for adults. Victoza is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that slows digestion, prevents the liver from making too much glucose and helps the pancreas produce more insulin when needed.

MODAG GmbH, a new German company focused on neurological diseases, has raised €12 million in a Series A financing round to bring its lead product for multiple system atrophy (MSA) into clinical development. MSA is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the progressive loss of function and death of different types of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. According to the US National Institutes of Health, there are currently no drugs that are capable of slowing the progression of the disease.

Sanifit Therapeutics SA has raised €72.2 million from venture finance and convertible bonds to take its orphan drug candidate SNF472 into Phase 3 development for the treatment of calciphylaxis, a disease where calcium accumulates in small blood vessels in fat and skin tissues. This causes blood clots and serious infections which frequently leads to death.

The fundraising consisted of €55.2 million in Series D finance and €17 million in convertible bonds.

Erytech Pharma SA has teamed up with SQZ Biotechnologies Co, a spin-out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to develop antigen-specific immune modulating therapies for cancer. The collaboration uses Erytech’s technique for encapsulating drug substances inside red blood cells to inform drug development by SQZ. The MIT spin-out is a cell therapy company.

The Spanish pharmaceutical company Almirall SA has received a €120 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support research into new treatments for inflammatory and dermatological diseases.

The loan is being granted under a European Commission ‘Investment Plan for Europe’ that is mobilising public funds for new technologies and employment. The company will direct the funds towards research into pathologies such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and actinic keratosis, a type of precancerous cutaneous lesion.