TCR2 Therapeutics reports positive interim results for gavo-cel in early-stage solid tumors trial

TCR2 Therapeutics reports positive interim results for gavo-cel in early-stage solid tumors trial

TCR2 Therapeutics has reported positive interim results from its phase 1 part of the phase 1/2 clinical trial of its T-cell therapy candidate gavo-cel in mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. The US-based clinical-stage cell therapy company said that as of the 30 June 2021 data cutoff, 17 patients, which include 12 mesothelioma, four ovarian cancer and one […]

Pfizer to acquire immuno-oncology company Trillium Therapeutics for $2.2bn

Pfizer to acquire immuno-oncology company Trillium Therapeutics for $2.2bn

US pharma giant Pfizer has agreed to acquire Trillium Therapeutics, a publicly listed Canadian clinical stage immuno-oncology company, for $18.5 per share or $2.26 billion in an all-cash deal. The portfolio of Trillium Therapeutics has biologics that have been designed to boost the ability of patients’ innate immune systems for detecting and killing cancer cells. […]

Liquid biopsy company ANGLE plc bags pharma services contract

Liquid biopsy company ANGLE plc bags pharma services contract

UK-based liquid biopsy company ANGLE plc has won a pharma services contract worth up to $1.2 million from an undisclosed pharma company that is engaged in developing cancer drugs. The pharma company has chosen ANGLE’s Parsortix system to carry out longitudinal monitoring of patients in three separate clinical trials in prostate cancer and other locally […]

Gan & Lee gets EMA orphan drug status for GLR2007 in glioma

Gan & Lee gets EMA orphan drug status for GLR2007 in glioma

Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals has been granted orphan drug designation for GLR2007 from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) for the treatment of glioma, a type of tumor found in the brain and spinal cord. The Chinese biopharma company is currently studying GLR2007 in a phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. […]

French biotech company Step Pharma raises €35m in a Series B round

French biotech company Step Pharma raises €35m in a Series B round

Step Pharma has raised €35 million in a Series B financing round for advancing STP938, its lead CTPS1 inhibitor into clinical development for the treatment of T-cell malignancies. The French biotech company is engaged in developing novel drugs for oncology and autoimmune diseases. The Series B round was co-led by new investors Sunstone Life Science […]

Boehringer Ingelheim to acquire NBE-Therapeutics for €1.1bn

Boehringer Ingelheim to acquire NBE-Therapeutics for €1.1bn

German pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim has signed a deal worth €1.18 billion to acquire NBE-Therapeutics, a clinical-stage Switzerland-based biotech company, focused on developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and advancing targeted cancer therapies. Through the acquisition, Boehringer Ingelheim will gain access to the Swiss firm’s iADC platform, which is capable of creating immune stimulatory ADCs with an […]

Merck to acquire US biopharma company VelosBio to strengthen oncology pipeline

Merck to acquire US biopharma company VelosBio to strengthen oncology pipeline

Merck acquisition of VelosBio : US pharma giant Merck has agreed to acquire VelosBio, a California-based clinical-stage biopharma company, for $2.75 billion in an all-cash deal, in a move to strengthen its oncology pipeline. VelosBio is engaged in developing cancer therapies that target receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1). The company’s lead investigational candidate […]

VelosBio begins phase 2 trial of VLS-101 in solid tumors

VelosBio begins phase 2 trial of VLS-101 in solid tumors

VelosBio, a San Diego-based biopharma company, said that it has dosed the first patient in a phase 2 clinical trial of its investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) VLS-101 in patients having solid tumors. VLS-101, which is the company’s lead product candidate, targets a cell-surface protein called ROR1. Expressed during embryofetal development, ROR1 is however not seen […]

Seattle Genetics signs $4.4bn worth oncology deals with Merck

Seattle Genetics signs $4.4bn worth oncology deals with Merck

US biotech company Seattle Genetics has secured deals worth up to $4.4 billion with Merck, that include two new strategic oncology collaborations. The two major pharma companies will develop and commercialize Seattle Genetics’ ladiratuzumab vedotin across the world. Ladiratuzumab vedotin is an investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets LIV-1, which is presently in phase 2 […]