Merck

Kineta Reports Initial Clinical Response Data at AACR 2024 of its Ongoing Phase 1/2 VISTA-101 Clinical Trial

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 8, 2024
Combination, CPI, Immunosuppression, Patient, Tumor microenvironment, Immunoglobulin G, Merck, Cancer, Pembrolizumab, Lung cancer, AACR, DLT, Clinical trial, Merck & Co., Kineta, NK, VISTA, Pharmaceutical industry

SEATTLE, April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kineta, Inc. (Nasdaq: KA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immunotherapies in oncology that address cancer immune resistance, announced today at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in San Diego, CA an update on its ongoing VISTA-101 Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating KVA12123, an anti-VISTA monoclonal antibody, as monotherapy and in combination with Merck’s anti-PD1 therapy, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Key Points: 
  • KVA12123 cleared the fifth of six monotherapy dose levels and the second of four cohorts in combination with pembrolizumab.
  • KVA12123 was well tolerated with no dose limiting toxicities (DLT) or cytokine related adverse events at any dose level.
  • Patients currently enrolled in the trial will be permitted to continue to participate.
  • KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.

Gain Therapeutics Bolsters Management Team with the Appointment of Gene Mack as Chief Financial Officer

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 8, 2024
MSD, Employment, Fordham University, Biotechnology, CFO, Patient, Research, Merck, Gruntal & Co., Acquisition, IPO, MBA, Initial, Therapy, HSBC, Gene Mack, Pharmaceutical industry

BETHESDA, Md., April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of the next generation of allosteric small molecule therapies, today announces the appointment of Gene Mack, MBA as its chief financial officer, effective as of April 8, 2024.

Key Points: 
  • BETHESDA, Md., April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of the next generation of allosteric small molecule therapies, today announces the appointment of Gene Mack, MBA as its chief financial officer, effective as of April 8, 2024.
  • “We are thrilled to welcome Gene as our new CFO,” commented Gain CEO Matthias Alder.
  • Prior to joining Gain, Gene was CFO at privately held Imcyse SA between 2021 and 2023.
  • “I am excited to join Gain Therapeutics during this important stage of corporate growth and scientific progression.

NextCure Appoints Dr. Rakesh Dixit to Scientific Advisory Board

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Biotechnology, AstraZeneca, Merck, Cancer, Doctor of Philosophy, Spacecraft, B7-H4, Antibody, Johnson & Johnson, Immunotoxin, CSO, MedImmune

BELTSVILLE, Md., April 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NextCure, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel, first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to treat cancer, today announced the appointment of Rakesh Dixit, PhD, to its Scientific Advisory Board.

Key Points: 
  • BELTSVILLE, Md., April 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NextCure, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel, first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to treat cancer, today announced the appointment of Rakesh Dixit, PhD, to its Scientific Advisory Board.
  • As an accomplished product developer whose expertise is focused on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), Dr. Dixit will support NextCure in its efforts to build and develop its proprietary ADCs, including LNCB74 directed to B7-H4.
  • “We are delighted to have Dr. Dixit join our Scientific Advisory Board, where he will leverage his exceptional experience in developing antibody-drug conjugates,” said Solomon Langermann, PhD, NextCure’s chief scientific officer.
  • “Rakesh is a world authority on ADCs and has an incredible record of researching and developing them.

Indegene Hosts Inaugural Strategic Advisory Board Meeting Chaired By Renowned Global Biopharma Leader Jill DeSimone

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Growth, Central Waqf Council, Strategic planning, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, McKesson Corporation, SAB, Health, Management

PRINCETON, N.J., April 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indegene, a digital-first, life sciences commercialization company, hosted its first Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) meeting recently in New Jersey, chaired by Jill DeSimone, a well-known biopharma leader, with over four decades of global experience.

Key Points: 
  • PRINCETON, N.J., April 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indegene, a digital-first, life sciences commercialization company, hosted its first Strategic Advisory Board (SAB) meeting recently in New Jersey, chaired by Jill DeSimone, a well-known biopharma leader, with over four decades of global experience.
  • She has previously worked with industry giants such as Bristol Myers Squibb, and Teva, and was the President of US Oncology at Merck.
  • Under Jill's leadership, the SAB aims to propel Indegene's market and customer growth by infusing outside expertise, perspective, and thought leadership.
  • "The Strategic Advisory Board will be pivotal to Indegene’s success, signifying our commitment to growth and innovation”, said Gaurav Kapoor, Executive Vice President, Indegene.

Autolus Therapeutics Announces Changes to its Board of Directors

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 1, 2024
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, DBV Technologies, MB, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Harvard Medical School, University of Cambridge, Faculty, Imperial College London, Development, GSK plc, Biologics license application, Hematology, Patient, ALL, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Marketing, Biogen, Doctor of Philosophy, Bates College, Oxford Biomedica, Sarepta Therapeutics, Pharmaceutical medicine, Therapy, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, Royal college, FDA, BLA, Autoimmunity, Economics, Food, Pharmaceutical industry

John H. Johnson advised the Board of his decision to step down from his role as Chairman of the Board and Non-Executive Director.

Key Points: 
  • John H. Johnson advised the Board of his decision to step down from his role as Chairman of the Board and Non-Executive Director.
  • We wish John much success with his new projects,” said Dr. Christian Itin, Chief Executive Officer of Autolus.
  • He is currently a director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and chair of Dunad Therapeutics and Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
  • Mr. Bonney has served as a director with many companies previously including Celgene, Kaleido Biosciences, Magenta Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sarepta Therapeutics and Syros Pharmaceuticals.

Adagene Reports Full Year 2023 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 29, 2024
Head, Immunotherapy, HNSCC, Patient, Roche, Lead, Immunoglobulin G, Neoplasm, CRC, Audit committee, PD-1, Observation, Bioinformatics, Colorectal cancer, SAN, Information technology, Pembrolizumab, PRS, Safety, PD-L1, Compensated emancipation, Annual report, Apoptosis, Cervical cancer, Part, Merck, Senior, Bevacizumab, MSS, GAAP, ASCO, PFS, MTD, Liver disease, HCC, Therapeutic index, Endometrial cancer, Progression-free survival, ADS, Net, Regulatory T cell, Research and development, Liver, Pharmaceutical industry

SAN DIEGO and SUZHOU, China, March 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adagene Inc. (“Adagene”) (Nasdaq: ADAG), a platform-driven, clinical-stage biotechnology company transforming the discovery and development of novel antibody-based therapies, today reported financial results for the full year 2023 and provided corporate updates.

Key Points: 
  • Both confirmed PRs are sustained after more than one year with repeat dosing while maintaining robust safety profiles.
  • Observation of these clinical activities triggered further expansion into the second stage of the Simon’s 2-stage design for this dose level.
  • Net loss attributable to Adagene Inc.’s shareholders was US$18.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to US$80.0 million in 2022.
  • The company encourages investors and others to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

Transgene anticipates significant progress from immunotherapy pipeline in 2024 and extends financial visibility until Q4 2025

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
MSD, Research, Conference call, Conference, Head, AstraZeneca, E7, Patient, Merck & Co., Tumor microenvironment, Merck, News, R&I, Cancer, Virus, MD, E6, Lung cancer, AACR, NEC, European Journal, HPV16, Euronext Paris, De novo, Immune system, ASCO, Safety, Poster, Potyvirus, Pharmaceutical industry

Extended financial visibility secured until Q4 2025 through a revised credit facility provided by the major shareholder Institut Mérieux.

Key Points: 
  • Extended financial visibility secured until Q4 2025 through a revised credit facility provided by the major shareholder Institut Mérieux.
  • “During 2023 Transgene continued to make significant progress, delivering compelling data that confirm the value of our approach to treating cancer using our novel immunotherapies” commented Dr. Alessandro Riva, MD, Chairman and CEO of Transgene.
  • As announced on May 5, 2023, AstraZeneca terminated its oncolytic virus research and development collaboration with Transgene following a strategic review of its pipeline.
  • In 2024, Transgene expects to communicate progress and significant results and readout on all of its clinical stage assets.

Allarity Therapeutics Makes Strategic Pivot to Focus Solely on Accelerating Stenoparib Toward Regulatory Approval in Advanced Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Toxicity, Ovarian cancer, BRCA, Mirvetuximab soravtansine, Partnership, Patient, Neoplasm, Cancer, Merck, Doctor of Philosophy, Olaparib, WNT, Niraparib, Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, PARP, Therapy, Safety, Platinum, Interim, Rucaparib, Pharmaceutical industry

This decisive shift in priorities is driven by the compelling initial data from the Phase 2 monotherapy trial evaluating stenoparib in advanced, recurrent ovarian cancer patients, as announced on December 5, 2023.

Key Points: 
  • This decisive shift in priorities is driven by the compelling initial data from the Phase 2 monotherapy trial evaluating stenoparib in advanced, recurrent ovarian cancer patients, as announced on December 5, 2023.
  • In addition, stenoparib is unique in its mechanism of action, inhibiting PARP as well as the novel cancer target, tankyrase.
  • Tankyrase inhibition would restrain the WNT pathway, which is commonly upregulated not only in ovarian cancers but in many other solid cancers.
  • Given the unique, dual mechanism of action for stenoparib—coupled with its favorable safety profile—stenoparib may represent the next-generation alternative in the evolving market for advanced ovarian cancer patients.

Evaxion Announces Business Update and Full Year 2023 Financial Results

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
MSD, Conference, Innovation, Patient, Merck, Koala retrovirus, AI, Cancer, GHI, Merck & Co., Machine learning, European, Artificial intelligence

Closing of $5.3 million private placement on December 21, 2023, with participation of MSD Global Health Innovation Fund (MSD GHI), a corporate venture arm of Merck & Co., Inc., USA.

Key Points: 
  • Closing of $5.3 million private placement on December 21, 2023, with participation of MSD Global Health Innovation Fund (MSD GHI), a corporate venture arm of Merck & Co., Inc., USA.
  • MSD GHI is now the single largest shareholder in Evaxion, with ownership of around 15%.
  • COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evaxion Biotech A/S (NASDAQ: EVAX) (“Evaxion” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage TechBio company specializing in developing AI-Immunology™ powered vaccines, today provides a business update and announces full year 2023 financial results.
  • Evaxion hosted an R&D Day on March 19, 2024, providing deeper insights into the validated and differentiated AI-Immunology™ platform.

Healis Therapeutics announces collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and affiliates of Harvard Medical School to advance clinical-stage neuroscience research

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
MGH, Harvard Medical School, Public health, Mass General Brigham, Massachusetts General Hospital, MDD, Patient, Public, Roche, Research, Merck, Social anxiety disorder, DSM-IV codes, Bristol Myers Squibb, Clinical trial, Neuropsychiatry, HMS, World Health Organization, Therapy, Hospital, Safety, WHO, SAD, Major depressive disorder, PTSD, Mass, Pharmaceutical industry

Healis Therapeutics is pleased to announce that it has entered a clinical collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health system, and affiliates of Harvard Medical School (HMS).

Key Points: 
  • Healis Therapeutics is pleased to announce that it has entered a clinical collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health system, and affiliates of Harvard Medical School (HMS).
  • “We continue to observe very significant need in the neuropsychiatric patient population,” said Dr. Eric Finzi, Co-Founder of Healis Therapeutics.
  • “MDD remains a public health challenge around the world,” said Erik Van Widenfelt, Head of Clinical Trials at Healis Therapeutics.
  • General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School,” said Sebastian De Beurs, Co-Founder of Healis Therapeutics.