- November 18, 2019
Plano-based drug developer Reata raises $505 million, expects to double to 400 employees by end of 2020
Plano-based drug developer Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. raised more than $505 million in a stock sale Monday to speed its transition from a clinical-stage biotech startup to a company that makes treatments for life-threatening diseases. The publicly-traded company will use the money to register and commercialize its first two treatments: one for Alport syndrome, a genetic disease that can cause kidney disease and failure, and the other for Friedreich’s ataxia, a genetic disease that often begins in childhood and leads to brain and nervous system damage.
- November 18, 2019
Novel RNA interference agents improve lipid profiles in healthy volunteers
Two novel RNA interference agents, one targeting apolipoprotein C-III and one targeting angiopoietin-like protein 3, improved various lipid parameters in early studies with healthy volunteers, according to new data presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. One agent targeting apolipoprotein C-III (ARO-APOC3, Arrowhead) was associated with reductions in serum APOC3 and improvements in other lipids, while another agent targeting ANGPTL3 (ARO-ANG3, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals) was associated with reductions in ANGPTL3 and improvements in other lipids, researchers reported.
- November 18, 2019
Chikungunya Vaccine Candidate Delivered Excellent Study Results
Valneva chikungunya vaccine candidate VLA1553 was generally safe in all dose groups and the local tolerability profile was excellent.
- November 16, 2019
FDA Approves Talicia To Treat Superbug Linked To Stomach Cancer
The FDA’s decision to approve Talicia could have far-reaching impact, as this bug infects millions of American adults a year and is one of the strongest known causes of stomach cancer. Talicia is a three-drug combination of omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor, amoxicillin, a penicillin-class antibacterial, and rifabutin, a rifamycin antibacterial. It is indicated for the treatment of H. pylori infection in adults.
- November 13, 2019
Tissue Donor Tuly Gonzalez’s Legacy Continues Through The 8 Lives She Impacted
Family and friends gathered at the University of Miami Life Science and Technology Park Wednesday morning to remember Tuly Gonzalez on what would have been her 32nd birthday. She died 11 years ago but the gathering was not just to remember her, but to also celebrate the lives she has impacted though her donation.
- November 12, 2019
Novel therapy safe, effective in acute, severe alcoholic hepatitis
In this exclusive video from The Liver Meeting 2019, Tarek Hassanein, MD, FAASLD, professor of medicine at UC San Diego Health and medical director of Southern California GI and Liver Centers, discusses results of a phase 2a study, which demonstrated that DUR-928 was well-tolerated and effective in patients with acute alcoholic hepatitis.
- November 12, 2019
AASLD: Durect’s alcoholic hepatitis med repairs liver, cuts mortality in phase 2
Hepatitis used to be the talk of the town at The Liver Meeting, the annual gathering of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. These days, the conversation is turning to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but its cousin alcoholic hepatitis (AH) isn’t getting much attention. Durect is trying to change that.
- November 12, 2019
First Results Out for Off-the-Shelf CAR-T Therapy in Solid Tumors
The interim results come from an ongoing phase I trial in patients with colorectal cancer. Of the 12 patients given Celyad’s CAR T-cell immunotherapy so far, six have seen their tumors shrink. The therapy has also shown no evidence of causing graft-versus-host disease, a condition where foreign immune cells attack the host body. Celyad’s CAR T-cell immunotherapy is aimed to overcome the drawbacks of CAR T-cell immunotherapies already in the market such as Kymriah and Yescarta.
