Named after the average length of the GI tract, 9 Meters’ larazotide is the first coeliac drug to enter Phase III trials. If things go to plan, larazotide could be approved by 2023, thereby overcoming the unmet needs that remain in this condition despite adherence to a gluten-free diet.

SOTIO’s genetically-engineered SO-C101 is showing promise as a monotherapy and combined with immunotherapies in pre-clinical tests and also recently in a phase I study. CBO Jens Hennecke, Ph.D. shared an update on the company’s Phase 1 Progress.

California-based INmune decided to leverage its TNF platform and launch a Phase II trial of its selective inhibitor of soluble TNF (sTNF), Quellor, in hospitalised Covid-19 patients. Quellor differs from the existing TNF inhibitors on the market, which are prescribed for inflammatory conditions ranging from rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis, because it only inhibits sTNF, and not transmembrane TNF (tmTNF) as well.

In this article, Drug Target Review’s Hannah Balfour discusses with Chief Medical Officer of SOTIO, Richard Sachse, why interleukin 15 (IL-15) signalling has become a top target for cancer immunotherapies and how they designed their drug (SO-C101) to overcome some of the limitations of previous IL-15 and IL-2 targeted therapies.

The UK government has placed an order for 60 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine from Valneva for about $555 million. The deal includes an additional investment that CEO Thomas Lingelbach says will help double the footprint of Valneva’s manufacturing site in Livingston, Scotland, and allow it to produce 100 million to 150 million doses annually.