Drug Discovery

Aviragen Therapeutics and Vaxart sign merger deal

Aviragen Therapeutics, which is engaged in the discovery and development of direct-acting antivirals to treat infections with limited therapeutic options, has signed a merger agreement with Vaxart, a clinical-stage company focused on developing oral recombinant vaccines.

Voyager to gain global rights to VY-AADC program for advanced Parkinson’s disease

Voyager Therapeutics, a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing treatments for severe neurological diseases, has announced an update to its VY-AADC program for advanced Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers identify new genetic variants for breast cancer risk

A major international collaboration involving hundreds of researchers worldwide has identified seventy-two new genetic variants that contribute to the risk of developing breast cancer.

Incyte, MacroGenics sign licensing agreement for anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody MGA012

Incyte and MacroGenics have entered into an exclusive global collaboration and license agreement for MacroGenics’ MGA012, an investigational monoclonal antibody that inhibits programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1).

Aurinia to expand voclosoprin renal franchise

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals revealed plans to expand its voclosoprin renal franchise to include focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and minimal change disease (MCD).

Boehringer Ingelheim partners with TARGET to progress NASH research

TARGET PharmaSolutions announced that Boehringer Ingelheim International has entered into a multi-year strategic partnership for TARGET-NASH.

Alnylam, Vir to jointly advance RNAi therapeutics for infectious diseases

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Vir Biotechnology for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics for infectious diseases, including chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

UK’s NICE makes Nivolumab available for head and neck cancer patients

UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has made nivolumab (Opdivo) made by Bristol-Myers Squibb available for patients with head and neck cancer who did not respond to chemotherapy within six months, and the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Moffitt researchers discover new targets for approved cancer drug

A team of researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center used cellular drug screening, functional proteomics and computer-based modeling to determine whether drugs with well-known targets may be repurposed for use against other biological targets.