Galapagos NV has taken further steps to consolidate its portfolio following the decision, taken with partner Gilead Sciences Inc in late 2020, not to pursue a US marketing authorisation for the rheumatoid arthritis drug Jyseleca (filgotinib). As a consequence, it is refocusing its research efforts on inflammation, fibrosis and kidney diseases. It is discontinuing research in metabolic diseases and in osteoarthritis.
MiNA Therapeutics Ltd has entered into a research collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co to develop candidate drugs using technology for restoring normal cell function by activating gene expression. MiNA’s small activating RNA (saRNA) technology will be used to research up to five drug targets selected by Lilly.
Evotec SE booked revenue of €133.1 million in the first quarter, up by 11% from a year earlier, as its service offering to pharma and biotech companies continued to expand both in quantity and scope. Concurrent with this expansion, spending on both R&D and administration rose by 23% in the quarter. This, plus the winding down of payments from Sanofi SA relating to a multi-year collaboration, left operating profit at €6.8 million, down from €16.1 million a year earlier.
The French vaccine company Valneva SE has raised $107.6 million from an initial public offering of shares on the US Nasdaq market, enabling it to accelerate development of candidate vaccines to prevent Covid-19 as well as Lyme disease. The company also has a prophylactic vaccine in development against the chikungunya virus, which is prevalent in Africa, Asia and India. The company’s American Depositary Shares began trading on Nasdaq on 6 May.
Valneva is also listed on Euronext Paris.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc and its US partner Vir Biotechnology Inc have submitted a candidate antibody for patients at risk of severe Covid-19 disease to the European Medicines Agency for a rolling review. A rolling review is a procedure by which a regulator examines data for a prospective drug as it becomes available, rather than waiting until all clinical trials are complete. This enables medicines that are important to public health to be reviewed more quickly.
A topical treatment for diabetic macular oedema is poised to enter Phase 3 development following the closing of a $57 million Series C financing round for the developer, Oculis SA of Switzerland. The treatment, OCS-01, is an eye drop formulation of dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, which if approved, would be the first topical treatment for a retinal oedema.
Mogrify Ltd has raised an additional $17 million in venture capital bringing the total generated for its Series A financing round up to $33 million. The proceeds will be used to advance programmes in immuno-oncology and ophthalmology as well as in vivo reprogramming therapies for retinal degeneration. Mogrify has developed a direct cellular conversion technology that enables researchers to transform any mature human cell type into any other without going through a pluripotent stem cell state. This is a new approach to drug discovery and development.
Technology that integrates clinical trial data from patients with dementia and machine learning has received financial support from public and private funders in the UK. The company responsible for the technology is Cumulus Neuroscience Ltd (formerly BrainWaveBank) of Belfast, Northern Ireland. On 4 May, it announced receipt of £6 million from the Dementia Discovery Fund, the Future Fund and the charity, LifeArc.
Preclinical work being undertaken by STORM Therapeutics Ltd has shown that targeting RNA modifying enzymes with small molecule drugs is a credible new strategy for treating acute myeloid leukaemia, as well as solid tumours. A second paper outlining this strategy was published on 26 April 2021 in the journal Nature.
An experimental long-acting antibody has reduced infections caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a Phase 3 trial of healthy infants. Nirsevimab met its primary endpoint of significantly reducing the incidence of lower respiratory tract infections, the developers AstraZeneca Plc and Sanofi SA announced on 26 April.