Oncology

Eli Lilly’s Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib) has been approved in the US for lymphocytic leukaemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). It has been granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients who have received at least two lines of therapy, including a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor and a BCL-2 inhibitor. The decision […]

A novel DNA vaccine in combination with chemotherapy has demonstrated promising clinical results against a deadly form of ovarian cancer. The investigational compound Elenagen is an experimental DNA therapy that consists of a circular piece of DNA called a plasmid that includes a gene for a human protein called p62/SQSTM1. In a new paper, a […]

SpringWorks Therapeutics’ Ogsiveo (nirogacestat) has become the first drug to be approved for desmoid tumours in the US, following the go-ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Desmoid tumours are non-cancerous but can be locally aggressive. Although surgical removal has historically been the treatment of choice, there is a high risk that the […]

Scientists have used CRISPR gene editing to target and rapidly destroy glioblastoma cells in an approach that could apply to other highly mutated cancers. Using a technique they’ve dubbed “cancer shredding,” the researchers at Gladstone Institutes programmed CRISPR to zero-in on repeating DNA sequences present only in recurrent tumour cells – and then obliterate those […]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it will investigate the safety of BCMA- or CD19-directed autologous CAR-T cell immunotherapies, following reports of T cell malignancies, including chimeric antigen receptor CAR-positive lymphoma, in these patients. The reports were received from clinical trials and postmarketing adverse event (AE) data sources. Despite the investigation, the FDA has […]

The Chinese National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has granted conditional approval to Apollomics’ partner Avistone Biotechnology to commercialise vebreltinib (APL-101) in China for MET exon 14 skipping non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). “The NMPA approval of vebreltinib is an important milestone toward providing a new treatment option for patients with MET exon 14 skipping NSCLC […]

Nouscom, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing off-the-shelf and personalised viral vector-based cancer vaccines, has raised €67.5 million in an oversubscribed Series C financing round. The proceeds will enable Nouscom to advance its pipeline and complete Phase II clinical trials with its cancer vaccine NOUS-209. Representatives from Andera Partners, Bpifrance and M Ventures, who led […]

Arcellx has revealed encouraging interim data from its Phase I study of CART-ddBCMA in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The company plans to present new data with a median follow-up of 26.5 months at the 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition taking place 9-12 December 2023 in San Diego, […]

New trial evidence has shown that Kite’s CAR-T cell therapy Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel: axi-cel) reduces the risk of death by 27.4% in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL), corresponding to a 38% improvement in overall survival (OS). It is the only treatment in nearly 30 years to show statistically significant OS, […]

Don’t forget to register for the DDW Turning Science into Business Summit, ‘Cancer research opportunities and advances’, to hear insight and expertise from leading international figures. The event, which will be sponsored by Taconic Biosciences, will take place online on 16 November at 7AM PST / 10AM EST / 3PM GMT / 4PM CET and […]

The latest episode of the DDW Highlights podcast is now available to listen to below. DDW’s Megan Thomas narrates five key stories of the week to keep DDW subscribers up-to-date on the latest industry updates.  With the first DDW Turning Science into Business Summit taking place next week on the theme of Cancer Research, this dynamic area of drug […]

News round-up for 6-10 November by DDW Digital Content Editor Diana Spencer. With the first DDW Turning Science into Business Summit taking place next week on the theme of Cancer Research, this dynamic area of drug discovery is my round-up focus again. Most significantly, this week has seen the UK approval of a new indication […]

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 38th Annual Meeting (SITC 2023) took place on 1-5 November 2023, at San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, US. CAN-2409 in non-metastatic pancreatic cancer Candel Therapeutics reported on initial positive interim data from its Phase II clinical trial of CAN-2409 that showed notable improvements in patients with […]

DDW Editor Reece Armstrong speaks to Christian Leisner, Chief Executive Officer of antibody therapeutics’ developer CDR-Life about methods to increase access to antigens and improving immunotherapy treatments. RA: Why are existing immunotherapies restricted to certain patient populations?  CL: Immunotherapies, principally anti-PD-1/-L1 checkpoint inhibitors, have shown therapeutic benefit in improving the prognosis of patients but only […]

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised a new indication for anastrozole, to prevent breast cancer in post-menopausal women at moderate or high risk of developing the disease. The hormone treatment was already authorised for use in the treatment of breast cancer in post-menopausal women and has been used off-label for […]

Cancer Research UK and the KWF Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) have announced a new multi-project strategic partnership to advance promising therapeutic agents for cancer. Under the partnership, KWF intends to provide funding to enable the development of select early phase clinical programmes through Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development (CDD). The CDD will sponsor and […]