Oncology

Lineage Cell Therapeutics and Cancer Research UK have announced encouraging primary and secondary endpoint results from their clinical study of VAC2 in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Five of eight patients treated (62.5%) had a best response of immune-related stable disease, and three (37.5%) demonstrated immune-related progressive disease. Overall, VAC2 was well-tolerated, there were […]

A potent anti-cancer therapy has been created using Nobel prize-winning “click chemistry”, in a new study by University College London (UCL) and Stanford University researchers. The study, published in Nature Chemistry, opens up new possibilities for how cancer immunotherapies might be built in future. The research team created an anti-cancer therapy with three components: one […]

Immuno-oncology company Crescendo Biologics has revealed plans to augment the ongoing Phase Ib clinical trial of CB307 through the addition of a new pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) combination expansion cohort. Additional financing of $32 million has been secured with the support of all major existing shareholders, including Sofinnova Partners, Andera Partners, IP Group BioNTech, Takeda and Quan […]

A Cancer Research UK-funded clinical trial has shown, for the first time, that a new class of antibody could benefit cancer patients whose existing treatments have stopped working. The Phase I clinical trial, sponsored and managed by Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development, tested whether an IgE antibody could be used to treat cancer. […]

DDW’s Megan Thomas spoke with Frédéric Triebel, the French immunologist/oncologist who is best known for his 1990 discovery of the LAG-3 immune control mechanism. Triebel shares insights from his career, expands on his experience with the company he founded, Immutep, and comments on the future of immuno-oncology (I-O). Background Lymphocyte-activation gene 3, or LAG-3, is a […]

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the marketing authorisation of JZP458 (a recombinant Erwinia asparaginase or crisantaspase). It has been recommended for use as a component of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoblastic lymphoma […]

The EU Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended the granting of conditional marketing authorisation for epcoritamab (Tepkinly) as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. The final European Commission decision on this […]

Cancer Research Horizons has signed a collaboration agreement to license the entire Twist Biopharma Solutions Library of Libraries. Under the terms of the agreement, Cancer Research Horizons will license Twist’s ‘Library of Libraries’, a collection of synthesised antibody libraries designed based on naturally occurring sequences that harness innovative structural and developability features to cover a […]

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.  The most impactful drug discovery news this week is all linked with scientific research data. Analysts Phesi revealed that a third of clinical […]

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended conditional marketing authorisation for Janssen’s Talvey (talquetamab). The drug has received a positive opinion for use as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who have received at least three […]

News round-up for 17-21 July by DDW Digital Content Editor Diana Spencer. The most impactful drug discovery news this week is all linked with scientific research data. Analysts Phesi revealed that a third of clinical development programmes are cancelled during Phase II, and there were significant trial results for drugs for head and neck cancer […]

BioIVT has acquired PrecisionMed, a supplier of human biological material for genetics, drug discovery, and biomarker research and in vitro diagnostics. Based in Carlsbad, CA, US, PrecisionMed has been collecting biospecimens for neurology and oncology research for more than 27 years, and reportedly has the largest private, global repository of longitudinally collected human CSF for […]

Evan Floden, CEO of Seqera Labs examines how data sharing platforms are impacting cancer and genomics research. The tide has been turning in the worlds of diagnostics and drug development. Bioinformatics and genetic sequencing are starting to be placed front and centre of public research programmes as scientists from around the world recognise the substantial […]

Rolf Turk, Senior Manager, Genomics Medicine at Integrated DNA Technologies, examines how CRISPR is being used to enhance cancer therapies. Since its discovery in 2012, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology has revolutionised the biomedicine and cell and gene therapy fields, providing a versatile tool for precise and efficient genome editing. Years of […]

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for regulatory review Astellas Pharma’s marketing authorisation application (MAA) for zolbetuximab, an investigational Claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2)-targeted monoclonal antibody. The application is for authorisation as a first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma whose tumours are CLDN18.2-positive. Gastric cancer […]

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.  Despite the bad news for the UK life sciences industry this week that international investment dropped nearly 50% in 2022, both private and […]