The FDA on Monday approved a new drug for patients with advanced small cell lung cancer, permitting the treatment to be marketed based on less evidence than it traditionally requires in order to speed its path to market. Madrid-based PharmaMar, which developed lurbinectedin (Zepzelca), licensed its US commercialization rights to Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ) last […]

GlaxoSmithKline’s years-long oncology resurgence is on track to have two new drugs approved in the US in mid-2020, after the company won a key first-line ovarian cancer indication for Zejula (niraparib) in April. The belantamab mafodotin and dostarlimab approvals also anticipated this year will give GSK its first commercial footholds in the immuno-oncology market – […]

Diabetes drug giant Novo Nordisk has reached a $725 million deal to acquire Corvidia Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech developing treatments for disorders affecting the heart and the kidneys. The upfront payment due to Corvidia shareholders is cash. According to the terms of the agreement, Denmark-based Novo Nordisk (NASDAQ: NOVO) could be on the hook for […]

Verve Therapeutics aims to use gene editing to address heart attacks by targeting the liver, not the heart. And it wants to make its edits inside the patient. The startup’s approach raises a lot of questions. Verve has some answers now, and it has raised $63 million to learn more. The new financing announced Thursday […]

To ameliorate a pandemic that infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci calls his “worst nightmare,” a winner-takes-all solution won’t be enough. Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, this week told attendees at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s annual convention that developing multiple vaccines and therapeutics will be necessary to tamp down the […]

Cancer drug developer Iteos Therapeutics announced Tuesday that it appointed Matthew Gall as its chief financial officer. Gall was most recently senior vice president of corporate development and treasurer at Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT). His previous experience includes roles at Celgene and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD). Iteos, a Belgium-based firm with US headquarters in Cambridge, […]

The biggest life sciences IPO of the year so far belongs to Legend Biotech. The cancer drug developer was able to raise $423.8 million after pricing its shares well above the targeted price range. Legend, which has executive offices Somerset, NJ, had planned to sell 18 million shares in the range of $18 to $20 […]

Another venture capital firm that backs biotechs has raised a multimillion-dollar fund—money the firm, Cambridge, MA-based Atlas Venture, says it will use to continue creating and funding companies that are working to create new medicines. Atlas revealed Friday that it closed its 12th fund after raising $400 million, a total that pushes the amount the […]

Our immune systems are designed to monitor for signs of foreign molecules, and among the first responses to such signals of potential danger are the formation of structures called inflammasomes. But the innate immune system’s natural inflammatory reaction, a protective mechanism meant to tackle any impending infection or injury, may also cause damaging inflammation in […]

Grail, a clinical-stage company developing cancer tests intended to detect early signs of the disease from a small blood sample, has agreed to invest $100 million in a new outpost planned for Research Triangle Park, NC. The new Grail site will have a laboratory and warehouse space, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday after an agreement […]

Samumed added Michael White to its leadership team as its chief scientific officer. He was most recently CSO for tumor cell biology at the Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) oncology R&D group. White’s prior experience includes more than 20 years at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where his roles included professor of cell biology, associate director […]