Research & Development

Novartis enters licensing agreement with UNP for peptide therapeutics

Novartis has signed a research partnership and licensing agreement with Unnatural Products (UNP) valued at up to $1.7bn to develop macrocyclic peptide therapeutics targeting cardiovascular diseases.

MSD and Mayo Clinic team up to advance AI in drug development

Merck & Co (MSD) and Mayo Clinic have entered a research and development collaboration to utilise AI, advanced analytics, and multimodal clinical data in support of drug discovery and precision medicine.

Evogene and QUT partner on AI-based cancer therapies

Evogene has partnered with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia to progress the development of AI-driven small molecule cancer therapeutics.

J&J’s Rybrevant Faspro gains FDA approval for new dosing in NSCLC

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has received the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a new monthly dosing schedule for the combination therapy Rybrevant Faspro (amivantamab and hyaluronidase-lpuj) to treat patients with advanced, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Teijin and Aska Pharmaceutical agree for gynaecological drug development

Teijin Pharma has signed a joint research agreement with Tokyo-based Aska Pharmaceutical to develop small-molecule drug candidates for gynaecological diseases.

ExCellThera secures German NUB Status 1 listing for Zemcelpro

ExCellThera and its wholly owned subsidiary Cordex Biologics have received a Status 1 listing from the Neue Untersuchungs- und Behandlungsmethoden (NUB) programme in Germany for Zemcelpro (dorocubicel), also known as UM171 Cell Therapy.

FDA issues complete response letter to Disc Medicine’s bitopertin NDA

Disc Medicine has received a complete response letter (CRL) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning its new drug application (NDA) for bitopertin for erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP).

Immunic secures $400m fund to support commercial-stage development

Immunic has announced an oversubscribed private placement of up to $400m, strengthening its move from an R&D-focused organisation into a commercial-stage entity.

Ampersand Capital acquires Purna Pharmaceuticals

Ampersand Capital Partners has acquired Purna Pharmaceuticals, a Belgium-based provider of development and manufacturing services for liquid and semi-solid dosage forms in the pharmaceutical sector.