Olivia Vizier

David Johnson of GigaGen discusses how recombinant forms of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) could overtake current IVIG therapies and be used in the treatment of COVID-19. In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic there has been a rush to develop therapeutics to combat the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causing the disease and, most recently, a discussion about the […]

A group of US academic researchers has sparked a nationwide effort to encourage people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate plasma, which will be used to treat patients across the country. The convalescent plasma program was instigated by physicians and investigators from 40 institutions, including the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, Washington University, Einstein Medical Center and

Introducing 9 Meters Biopharma, the new company birthed from the merger of Raleigh-based Innovate Biopharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and Israeli-based RDD Pharma, a startup focused on orphan and innovative therapies for gastrointestinal disorders.

Producing so many doses will require creating new facilities or commandeering those used for other vaccines. Critics of RNA and DNA vaccines point to the fact that we already have the established infrastructure to make traditional vaccines. “Governments are trying to build potential manufacturing capacities for [RNA and DNA vaccines], but they are not there

It’s early, not even 7 a.m., in fact, and the above statement is prefaced with an apology for interrupting the free-flowing dialogue taking place between a gathering of five biopharmaceutical executives on day two of the 2020 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM). Among the incessant ringing of nearby cell phones, conversations, and the echo of

With the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic still growing, many pharmaceutical companies are adapting their current R&D programmes to develop therapeutics or vaccines to help stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causing the outbreak. Drug Target Review’s Hannah Balfour explores how Cidara is transferring its expertise in therapeutics for respiratory viruses to focus on developing a potential treatment

In an interview with CancerNetwork®, Henry Adewoye, MD, chief medical officer at Compugen, discussed the study of COM701, which was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Virtual Meeting 2020, held from April 27-28, 2020. COM701 is a novel first-in-class immune checkpoint inhibitor that demonstrated encouraging preliminary antitumor activity with objective responses as a

Shares in Valneva SE rose by as much as 32% during early trading April 30 on news that Pfizer Inc. is paying $130 million up front to in-license its Lyme disease candidate vaccine, VLA-15. Valneva could also receive a further $35 million in development milestones and $143 million in early commercial milestones, as well as tiered sales royalties starting at

Positive topline data from the phase 3 REST-ON trial evaluating FT218 (Avadel), an investigational, once-nightly formulation of sodium oxybate, showed that the treatment led to clinically meaningful improvement in patients with narcolepsy.

Another company focused on severe respiratory complications of COVID-19 is La Jolla, Calif.-based Calcimedica Inc., which started a phase IIa study with its small-molecule calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channel inhibitor, CM-4620-injectable emulsion (IE), in patients with severe pneumonia who are at risk for ARDS. The company received a “Study May Proceed” letter from the FDA earlier this

A cell-targeting sequencing method developed at Rockefeller University is being used to find drug targets for neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Nuclear enriched transcript sort sequencings (NETSseq) is a sample preparation method that uses antibodies or RNA probes to latch on to the nuclei of pre-determined cells of interest, capturing pools of

A new type of checkpoint inhibitor from an Israeli biotech company called Compugen is showing early signs of halting tumor growth in patients with advanced cancer, offering hope that more patients might one day benefit from cancer immunotherapy.

Immunomedics (IMMU) isn’t concerned the coronavirus pandemic could slow its launch of a new breast cancer treatment, an executive said Thursday, as IMMU stock rocketed on the approval.

Despite oncology being a focus of pharmaceutical R&D for decades, some cancers remain difficult to treat. Drug Target Review’s Hannah Balfour spoke with Hans Klingemann, MD, PhD, Vice President of R&D at NantKwest, a clinical stage immunotherapy company, to find out how effective treatments against traditionally treatment-refractory cancers, like pancreatic cancers and triple-negative breast cancers, can be developed.

Cue Biopharma forged a clinical collaboration with Merck to combine its lead candidate CUE-101 with Merck‘s Keytruda as a first-line treatment for HPV+ recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer.

GV, Bill Gates and Foresight Capital joined three existing investors in Cerevance’s recent Series B round, which closed with $45m raised. The ability of this brain disease-focused drug discovery company to close a lucrative round with such high-profile investors amid the Covid-19 pandemic is impressive, but how will the new financing impact the Cerevance’s future?

The question James E. Brown, President & CEO, DURECT asked of CDMOs when he founded the company in 1998 remains perfectly operational. “‘Who are they?’ is the most important question for me regarding our external partners,” he tells me from his corporate headquarters in Cupertino, CA.

San Diego biotech company CalciMedica has partnered with two Midwestern hospitals to test a drug designed to help COVID-19 patients who are battling severe pneumonia.

Biotechnology startup Cerevance Inc. has secured $45 million to hunt for treatments for neurological diseases by studying samples of brain tissue gathered from deceased donors world-wide.

At GigaGen, a San Francisco-based biotech startup founded by Stanford University professor Dr. Everett Meyer, scientists are identifying the right antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients and hoping to use them as a template for synthesizing new ones, in a more consistent and efficient way so a handful of donors could potentially produce enough antibodies to treat millions

Research is critical during this pandemic. With so much unknown about the coronavirus, doctors and scientists are exploring new methods to finding a treatment. A New Orleans doctor is collecting blood samples from local survivors of Covid-19. The blood samples will help make a new kind of treatment for the masses.

HealthPartners is now testing a drug which could treat severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients. The drug – called CM4620-IE – received fast-track approval from the FDA earlier this month, allowing HealthPartners to begin clinical trials.

Scientists at Immunomedics have similarly loaded their ADC IMMU-132 (sacituzumab govitecan) with about eight SN-38 molecules in hopes of killing tumor cells via the bystander effect. After an initial rejection, IMMU-132 was resubmitted to the FDA for approval as a third-line treatment for late-stage, metastatic triple-negative breast cancer late last year.

“We need to have a more innovative approach to neuroscience; the pharmaceutical industry has been fixated too long on a handful of targets for serious neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, we now need to push past the investment risks and pursue novel approaches to treating these conditions,” according to Brad Margus, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)