Exelixis (EXEL) and Ipsen (Euronext: IPN; ADR: IPSEY) announced the initiation of COSMIC-312. A phase 3 pivotal trial of cabozantinib (CABOMETYX®) in combination with atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ®) versus sorafenib, in previously untreated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The co-primary endpoints of the trial are: progression-free survival and overall survival. An exploratory arm will also evaluate cabozantinib monotherapy in this first-line setting. COSMIC-312 is a multicenter, randomized, controlled phase 3 pivotal trial that …

At the 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting   CAR T is Still a Star With all the pessimistic views critics have sprayed around in the past few years about the cell therapy for cancer, the CAR T approach remained a star of prominent cancer gatherings. This phenomenon confirms the value of the FDA decision of approving the CAR T products, in spite of their …

Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ triple combination, which added the corrector VX-659 to the tezacaftor and ivacaftor combination, resulted in statistically significant improvements in lung function (percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second, or ppFEV1) in two Phase 3 studies in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Data from Vertex’s (VRTX) Phase 3 study in people with one F508del mutation and one minimal function mutation resulted in a mean absolute …

As we expected in our posting yesterday under Today’s Highlights, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Loxo Oncology’s (LOXO) Vitrakvi® (larotrectinib), the first oral TRK inhibitor for adult and pediatric patients with solid tumors having a neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene fusion. The approval is for the cancers that have no known acquired resistance mutation, are metastatic or where surgical resection is likely to result …

Aimmune Therapeutics (AIMT) has news. A lot of it is from a successful phase 3 trial for its peanut allergy drug as well as other news that boosts our conviction that this product is, indeed, important and has a good chance for approval in the U.S. and overseas.   Aimmune is a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for potentially life-threatening food allergies. The firm’s Characterized Oral …

In today’s news Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) announced the submission of a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency for the approval of solriamfetol.  Solriamfetol is a selective dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (DNRI) in development for treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in adult patients with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, and Parkinson’s disease. In 2014, Jazz Pharmaceuticals acquired a license to develop and commercialize solriamfetol from Aerial Biopharma. The aim of the …

RegenxBio (RGNX) has granted Abeona Therapeutics (ABEO) an exclusive worldwide license to its NAV AAV9 viral vector (subject to certain non-exclusive rights previously granted for MPS IIIA) for the treatment of four diseases: Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA) and type B (MPS IIIB), Infantile Batten Disease, also known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 1 (CLN1 Disease) and Juvenile Batten Disease, also known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 3 …

Illumina (ILMN) and Pacific Biosciences (PACB) announced they have signed an agreement for Illumina to acquire Pacific Biosciences at a price of $8.00 per Pacific Biosciences share, in an all-cash transaction. The agreement has already been approved by the board of directors of both firms. The acquisition complements Illumina’s sequencing solutions with accurate long-read sequencing capabilities to answer complex genomic questions. Why the acquisition? While Illumina’s accurate and economic short-read sequencing platforms address the …

A number of biotech or biopharmaceutical companies have succeeded in the past couple of years in changing their statuses from clinical stage to revenues-generating firms. A number of these firms reside in the Prohost Portfolio, picked up before they generated revenues from their newly approved products’ sales. We are following up on these firms’ news as they come out of their new journeys towards marketing …

Tanezumab, an investigational humanized monoclonal antibody developed by Pfizer (PFE) and Eli Lilly (LLY), met all three co-primary endpoints in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). The 16-week Phase 3 study, which evaluated subcutaneous administration of tanezumab in patients with OA, demonstrated that the patients who received two doses of tanezumab, separated by eight weeks, experienced a statistically significant improvement in pain, physical function and patients’ overall assessment …

Amgen (AMGN) announced that AmgevitaTM, a biosimilar to adalimumab, will launch in markets across Europe beginning on October 16, 2018. According to Amgen’s press release, AmgevitaTM is the first adalimumab biosimilar to be approved by the European Commission (EC). The EC approval is based on analytical, pharmacokinetic and clinical data, including results from two Phase 3 confirmatory studies of the product for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis patients. The …

Exelixis (EXEL) announced its initiation of a phase 3 pivotal trial (COSMIC-311) of Cabometyx (cabozantinib) in patients with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) who have progressed after two prior vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-targeted therapies. The co-primary endpoints for the trial are progression-free (PFS) survival and objective response rate (ORR). Why conducting trial on patients with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.    Differentiated thyroid tumors make up …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Paratek Pharmaceuticals’ (PRTK) product Seysara™ (sarecycline) for inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris in patients 9 years of age and older. Paratek has exclusively licensed U.S. development and commercialization rights of Seysara for acne to Allergan PLC, who has assigned such rights to Almirall SA. Paratek retains development and commercialization rights in the rest of the world. Seysara (sarecycline) …

The high risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease is believed to be caused by an elevated level of lipoprotein (a) {Lp(a)}. Elevated Lp(a) is described as an independent, hereditary risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Diet and exercise, or even currently prescribed cholesterol-lowering treatments do not help the devastating outcome of this condition. Around 8 to 10 million people are living with established cardiovascular …

While preparing The Week in Review issue from Prohost, our attention  shifted towards historical news about a procedure that improved the heart function in severe heart failure patients. For cardiologists and their patients, the positive results were surprising, stunning and beyond anticipation. Current treatments of severe heart failure are only symptomatic and do not stop the heart muscle deterioration that results in imminent death. Data …

Exelixis’ (EXEL) partner Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Canada Inc. received approval of Cabometyx®(cabozantinib) tablets from Health Canada for adults with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) targeted therapy. Health Canada had granted Cabometyx priority review status, which resulted in the accelerated review of Ipsen’s new drug submission. Explaining the importance of Cabometyx’s additional approval, Michael M. Morrissey, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer …

Viking Therapeutics Announces Positive Top-Line Results from Phase 2 Study of VK2809 in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Elevated LDL-Cholesterol – The Study Achieves Primary Endpoint, Demonstrating Statistically Significant Reductions in LDL-C in Patients Receiving VK2809  – 57% to 60% Median Liver Fat Reduction Observed in VK2809-Treated Patients  – 77% to 91% of VK2809-Treated Patients Experienced ≥ 30% Reduction in Liver Fat …

Phase 2 clinical trial data of argenx’s (ARGX) product Efgartigimod (ARGX-113) in adult patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)  showed a favorable safety and tolerability profile. The results also demonstrated that efgartigimod caused meaningful platelet count improvements across doses and ITP patient classifications, including newly diagnosed, persistent and chronic, and correlated with a consistent reduction in IgG levels. Commenting on the news, Nicolas Leupin, Chief Medical …

Gilead Sciences (GILD) has news that we felt good about it for a company that saved millions of lives from the minute, but monster viruses HIV and HCV. Curing millions of patients with HCV, has led Gilead to decide that the time has come for bringing cures to many horrible diseases. Yesterday, September 12, the news announced that Gilead and Precision BioSciences have entered into …

In the Week in Review posted yesterday on our website that is experiencing several attempts on its life, we wrote about some firms, including Amgen. In the Amgen’s article we tried to let the reader recognize the importance of Amgen’s (AMGN) asthma product tezepelumab and how it differs from all other asthma drugs on the market, including the conventional tablets, inhalers and infusions. The Novel …