Scarlet Therapeutics has entered into an agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to advance the development of smart red blood cells (SRBCs). Scarlet will lead a multidisciplinary consortium to develop SRBCs in a programme worth up to $14 million. The agreement builds… Read More
With the largest diabetic population and a pedigree in metabolic diseases, China is becoming one to watch in diabetes and obesity drug discovery. Diana Turner finds out about an increasingly competitive market. Research by clinical research organisation ICON in late… Read More
Genespire, in collaboration with researchers at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-TIGET), has revealed preclinical data supporting the potential of its liver-directed immune-shielded lentiviral gene therapy approach to treat metabolic disorder methylmalonic acidemia (MMA). The findings, published in the Journal of Hepatology, show that a single systemic administration of a lentiviral vector… Read More
Seaport Therapeutics has received an award of up to $15 million to advance its GlyphCele, from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), in collaboration with the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS). GlyphCele is an investigational Glyphed oral prodrug of the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib, which… Read More
Novo Nordisk and Vivtex Corporation have announced a partnership to develop oral biologic medicines for obesity, diabetes and associated comorbidities. Under the agreement, Vivtex will license select oral drug-delivery technologies to Novo Nordisk, while Vivtex is eligible to receive upfront payments totalling up to $2.1 billion, and… Read More
The latest episode of the DDW Highlights Podcast is now available to listen to below. DDW’s Bruno Quinney narrates five key stories of the previous week to keep DDW subscribers up-to-date on the latest industry news. Last week, a new report found breast cancer was the world’s most studied disease… Read More
Drug discovery company Nimbus Therapeutics has partnered with Eli Lilly to develop a novel oral treatment for obesity and other metabolic diseases. The companies aim to apply Nimbus’ computational chemistry and structure-based drug design approach to an early-stage, small molecule discovery programme addressing a significant unmet need… Read More
Biotechnology company Alveus Therapeutics has raised $159.8 million to advance its next-generation therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases. Proceeds from the Series A financing will support Phase II clinical development of ALV-100, the company’s lead programme, and Investigational New Drug (IND) filings of several early proprietary development candidates, including its highly… Read More
Biotechnology company Soley Therapeutics has raised $200 million Series C financing to advance its proprietary cell stress sensing platform and pipeline of novel therapeutics into clinic. It is believed Soley intends to use the funds to support its work filing investigational new drug (IND) applications and its… Read More
News round-up for 5 – 9 January by Bruno Quinney, Content Team at DDW. This week in DDW, a new report finds breast cancer is the world’s most studied disease for the fifth year running. That same report predicts obesity to break into the top five, with weight loss a key theme across… Read More
MetaVia has announced positive statistically significant results from the eight-week, non-titrated 48mg, multiple ascending dose (MAD) cohort of its Phase I clinical trial of DA-1726. DA-1726 is a novel, dual oxyntomodulin (OXM) analogue agonist that functions as a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) and glucagon receptor (GCGR), for… Read More
A new approach to treating obesity and metabolic diseases has shown promising early results in Phase I/IIa clinical trials. ARO-INHBE and ARO-ALK7 are investigational RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, developed by biotechnology company Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals. Preliminary results in Phase I/IIa trials found meaningful reductions in visceral fat, total fat and liver fat, suggesting… Read More
Zealand Pharma and OTR Therapeutics have entered a multi-programme strategic collaboration and license agreement to develop novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases. The collaboration will combine Zealand Pharma’s experience in obesity and metabolic health with OTR Therapeutics’ oral small-molecule platform. “The multi-programme collaboration will expand our… Read More
Biotech company Pila Pharma has recently completed a strongly oversubscribed share issue on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm. The company says the raised capital of nearly SEK 30 million ($3 million) will finance the first steps of development of its tablet-based treatment for obesity. Founded… Read More
Regulatory reform and investment in innovation have supercharged China’s biopharma sector, but will ongoing trade wars with the US pose a risk to growth? By Diana Turner. China’s role in the global biopharma sector has grown significantly in recent years. It is the world’s largest supplier of active… Read More
Akero Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on serious metabolic diseases, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Novo Nordisk for up to $5.2 billion in cash. The acquisition was announced as Novo Nordisk revealed it is closing its cell therapy division, with a loss of 250… Read More
