Germany
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Bayer Pushes Ahead With Parkinson’s Cell Therapy on Heels of Positive Phase 1 Data
A Bayer cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease has met primary and secondary goals of its first test in humans, and the pharmaceutical giant is now planning for a larger Phase 2 clinical trial expected to begin enrollment in the first half of next year.
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InflaRx Covid-19 Drug Welcomes an FDA Win; Pardes Bio Throws In the Towel
The FDA granted emergency use authorization to an InflaRx antibody drug that treats hospitalized Covid-19 patients. But Pardes Bioscience’s coronavirus journey is ending following the Phase 2 failure of an antiviral that was expected to compete with Pfizer’s Paxlovid.
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Payer’s Place: Dr. Anil Singh
Dr. Anil Singh shares his insights into the strategies employed by the organization to identify the most effective digital solutions for their members.
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BioNTech Buys Into Hot Area of Cancer R&D, Paying $170M for 2 Drug Assets
BioNTech’s alliance with DualityBio gives it two antibody drug conjugate (ADC) candidates, the most advanced of which is in mid-stage clinical development for solid tumors. It addresses the same target as a potential blockbuster AstraZeneca drug.
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BioNTech Puts Up $200M to Partner With OncoC4 in Cancer Immunotherapy
BioNTech is expanding its cancer immunotherapy scope by partnering with OncoC4 on clinical testing of its lead drug. The antibody was designed to offer a safety edge over other CTLA-4-blocking drugs it’s on track for a Phase 3 test in non-small cell lung cancer.
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‘Challenging Market’ Leads MorphoSys to Cut Preclinical R&D, Turn Focus to Cancer
MorphoSys’s emphasis on its clinical-stage cancer programs puts the spotlight on a myelofibrosis drug candidate from its 2021 acquisition of Constellation Pharmaceuticals. That small molecule could compete against drug candidates from GSK and Merck.
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Artificial Intelligence, BioPharma
BioNTech Dives Deeper Into Digital With £362M Buyout of AI Startup InstaDeep
BioNTech says its InstaDeep acquisition will help it expand its use of artificial intelligence in drug discovery and development. The startup specializes in a type of machine learning called reinforcement learning.
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CureVac sues BioNTech, claiming Covid-19 vaccine infringes key mRNA patents
Messenger RNA vaccine biotech CureVac is suing BioNTech, alleging that its rival’s Covid-19 vaccine infringes on intellectual property built on more than two decades of research. BioNTech responded that its work is original and the company will defend against the infringement allegations.
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Pharma, Artificial Intelligence, BioPharma
Bayer reloads Leaps with €1.3 billion to step up investments in biotech innovation
Bayer is committing another €1.3 billion to Leaps by Bayer, the company’s investment arm, to support additional investments in companies developing innovative technologies in healthcare and agriculture. In addition to backing companies developing cell and gene therapies, Leaps has also deployed its cash to startups developing artificial intelligence technologies for a range of applications.
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MorphoSys cuts R&D from Constellation deal to focus on clinical-stage cancer drugs
MorphoSys is cutting the drug discovery and R&D work of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, a company it acquired last year in a $1.7 billion deal. This consolidation of research operations will result in a non-cash impairment charge on Constellation’s goodwill.
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Discover the Next-Gen Platform for Integrated Collaborative Care
Beyond EHRs and digital front doors, reducing the gaps in patient care journeys.
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BioNTech broadens its scope in cancer with Medigene cell therapy alliance
BioNTech is acquiring a preclinical T cell receptor program (TCR) from Medigene, as well as licenses to the biotech’s TCR technologies. The agreement helps BioNTech expand its scope in cancer immunotherapy with a new approach for addressing solid tumors.
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Pfizer and BioNTech team up again, this time to develop an mRNA shingles vaccine
Pfizer is paying BioNTech $225 million to kick off a new alliance aiming to develop a shingles vaccine based on the same messenger RNA technology that is the basis of the partners’ Covid-19 vaccine. It’s the third alliance between the two companies, but this time Pfizer brings something more to the table.
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BMS joins off the shelf cancer therapy chase with Immatics’ T cell-engaging drug
Bristol Myers Squibb is paying $150 million up front for global rights to an Immatics biologic drug designed to recruit a patient’s T cells to go after cancer cells. It’s the latest deal in the field of cancer drug developers aiming for off-the-shelf treatments intended to be easier and less expensive to manufacture, distribute, and administer compared to earlier cell therapies.
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BioNTech CEO: omicron is partial escape variant, but booster may restore protection
Preliminary data suggest the BioNTech and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine may have diminished protection against the omicron variant, but levels of neutralizing antibodies can be restored with a third shot. Real-world data are needed to further assess the vaccine’s efficacy against the new variant and whether an omicron-specific version of the shot is needed.
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Biologics manufacturing drives Evotec’s $435M U.S. stock market debut
Evotec is an old player in the life sciences, but in offering new shares on the Nasdaq, the Germany-based company plans to bolster its new biologics manufacturing capabilities in the U.S and Europe. In other stock market debuts, IO Biotech’s IPO raised $100 million as it prepares a pivotal test of its lead cancer immunotherapy.
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Pfizer, BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is awarded full FDA approval
Full FDA approval makes the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine the first to reach that milestone. But the regulatory decision also flagged a potential risk of heart inflammation, particularly in young males, and the agency has asked the companies to conduct additional clinical research.