article thumbnail

German biotech CatalYm raises €50 million for GDF-15 inhibitor immunotherapy

pharmaphorum

Founded in 2016 as a spin-out from Wuerzburg University, CatalYm’s lead molecule CTL-002 is designed to neutralise the tumour-produced protein GDF-15. High concentrations of the GDF-15 in serum and tumour-micro-environment help cancers to evade the immune system and are associated with resistance to current therapies.

article thumbnail

Novo Nordisk crowns cell therapy pipeline with $598m Heartseed deal

pharmaphorum

Patients will also receive a dose of tacrolimus, an immune-suppressing drug, to guard against any immune reaction to the transplanted cells. The hope is that the spheroids will help to replenish damaged cardiomyocytes in the heart, restoring some of its ability to pump blood around the body.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Roche rings Bicycle bell again, grabbing another cancer target

pharmaphorum

In 2016 it started a $1 billion alliance with AstraZeneca to find drug candidates that could be used to treat respiratory diseases, and extended that in 2018 to include cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. The agreement includes another $12 million to Bicycle, per candidate, if Genentech decides to take a peptide further in development.

article thumbnail

Intratumoural viral delivery improves glioblastoma survival

European Pharmaceutical Review

The viral therapy “aims to awaken the patient’s immune system and trigger a healing from within,” Dr Fueyo commented. After injection, patients that respond well develop inflammation inside the tumour, triggering an immune response that first kills the virus.” This makes it difficult to treat the cancer with immunotherapy.

article thumbnail

Merck and Moderna partner to develop and sell cancer vaccine

Pharmaceutical Technology

In 2016, the companies entered a strategic partnership to develop novel messenger RNA (mRNA) based PCVs. The mRNA-4157/V940 has been designed to stimulate an immune response by producing T-cell responses depending on the mutational signature of a patient's tumour.

Vaccines 115
article thumbnail

GSK, Verily-backed Galvani starts trials of bioelectronic arthritis therapy

pharmaphorum

The first patient has been treated with an implantable bioelectronic device developed by Galvani Therapeutics, set up by GlaxoSmithKline and Alphabet’s Verily Life Sciences in 2016. Galvani is using its device to stimulate the splenic nerve, which sends signals to the spleen.

article thumbnail

Will Novartis provide new oral option for chronic hives?

European Pharmaceutical Review

While injectable biologic therapies are an effective option for CSU that is uncontrolled by these drugs, less than 20 percent of patients worldwide are treated with them, according to a 2016 British Journal of Dermatology paper and research shared by Novartis. In REMIX-2, the clinical trial enrolled 455 participants with CSU.