Keep up with the forefront of new drugs, focus on R&D and innovation
This Week’s news:
• Eli Lilly’s “Unlimited Canciner Type” RET inhibitor was approved by the FDA;
• Enhua’s subsidiary, Haoxinqing Medical, completed 125 million yuan in financing;
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced the acquisition of Portola Pharmaceuticals at a high premium of US$1.44 billion.
Approved for listing
Eli Lilly’s “Unlimited Cancer Type” RET Inhibitor Receives FDA Approval
On May 9, the US FDA accelerated the approval of the RET inhibitor Retevmo (selpercatinib) developed by Loxo Oncology, a subsidiary of Lilly, to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and thyroid cancer. Three kinds of cancer. The RET gene of these patients’ tumors has a fusion or mutation. Retevmo is the first precision therapy approved specifically for the treatment of cancer patients with mutations in the RET gene.
The olaparib combination received FDA approval to expand the scope of first-line maintenance treatment for patients with ovarian cancer
AstraZeneca (AstraZeneca) and Merck (MSD) jointly announced that the blockbuster PARP inhibitor olaparib (olaparib, English trade name Lynparza) developed by the two parties has been approved by the FDA for extended indications and used in combination with bevacizumab as a first-line maintenance therapy Treatment of patients with ovarian cancer who have entered complete or partial remission after receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. The tumors of these patients are positive for homologous recombination defects (HRD+), defined as containing harmful BRCA gene mutations and/or genomic instability. This is the second PARP inhibitor to be approved by the FDA in two weeks to expand the scope of first-line maintenance therapy for patients with ovarian cancer.
Financing
GRAIL raised 390 million US dollars! One blood test can diagnose more than 50 kinds of cancer
Recently, GRAIL, a star company dedicated to early cancer diagnosis, announced the completion of US$390 million in Series D financing to support the development and commercialization of liquid biopsy tests for detecting multiple cancer types. Since 2016, the company has raised more than $1.9 billion through four rounds of financing, aiming to reduce the mortality of patients worldwide through early cancer detection.
GRAIL combines next-generation gene sequencing (NGS) technology, cutting-edge computer science and data science, and large-scale clinical research to develop liquid biopsy methods for early diagnosis of cancer. The liquid biopsy developed by it extracts cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from the blood of patients, and then finds the existence of cancer and its tissue source through analysis of the methylation status of cfDNA.
Enhua’s subsidiary Haoxinqing Medical completed 125 million yuan financing
Recently, Jiangsu Enhua Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that its subsidiary, Jiangsu Haoxinqing Mobile Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jiangsu Haoxinqing”), in order to accelerate business development, further adjust and optimize the equity structure, and improve the level of operation and management. It is proposed to introduce new shareholders to increase capital.
The financing was funded by Suzhou Tonghe Yucheng Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) (referred to as “Tonghe Yucheng”) and Huachuang (Fujian) Equity Investment Enterprise (Limited Partnership) (referred to as “Huachuang”, China Development Capital) , Jingde (Guangzhou) Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) (Korea Investment Partners, KIP) co-funded for subscription. After the completion of this financing and capital increase, the company’s investment ratio in Jiangsu Haoxinqing will drop from 38.2739% to 28.2018% , Jiangsu Haoxinqing is still a subsidiary of the company.
Acquisition
Treatment of phenylketonuria, PTC Therapeutics reached an acquisition agreement
Recently, PTC Therapeutics announced the acquisition of Censa Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of drugs for metabolic diseases. CNSA-001 (sepiapterin) developed by the company is a drug for rare metabolic diseases to treat phenylketonuria (PKU) and other diseases related to defects in the biochemical pathway of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4).
PTC Therapeutics
CNSA-001 is an oral bioavailable form of the natural precursor of BH4. Compared with BH4, CNSA-001 has the potential to show a stronger ability to reduce phenylalanine in PKU patients. In December last year, CNSA-001 has reached the primary and secondary research endpoints in the Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of PKU patients, and is about to enter Phase 3 clinical development.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals announces the acquisition of Portola Pharmaceuticals at a premium of US$1.44 billion
Recently, Alexion Pharmaceuticals reached a definitive merger agreement to acquire Portola Pharmaceuticals at a cash price of $18 per share, thereby obtaining the Factor Xa inhibitor reversal agent Andexxa / Ondexxya (andexanet alfa). The purchase price is a 132% premium to Portola Pharmaceuticals’ closing price on May 4, making the company worth approximately $1.44 billion.
About Medicilon
Medicilon (stock code: 688202) is a drug development outsourcing service company (CRO). Founded on February 2, 2004, the company has gone through 16 years and established a company in Shanghai that integrates compound synthesis, compound activity screening, structural biology, pharmacodynamic evaluation, pharmacokinetic evaluation, toxicological evaluation, and formulation research A comprehensive technical service platform that conforms to international standards and is integrated with new drug registration, and has been recognized by the international drug management department. Medicipua’s animal laboratory facilities have obtained AAALAC (International Association for Animal Evaluation and Certification) certification and National Medical Products Administration NMPA GLP certification, and have reached the US Food and Drug Administration GLP standard.
Medicilon has a wealth of experience in global cooperation. Since 2015, Medicilon has served more than 500 active customers worldwide. It has served many global pharmaceutical companies such as Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche Pharmaceuticals, etc. R&D outsourcing services are provided by well-known domestic and foreign customers such as Swiss Medicine, Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical, CSPC, Huahai Pharmaceutical, and Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical.
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