Yescarta and Kymriah, known as CAR-T therapies, can help cancer patients by arming their immune cells to attack diseased tissue in types of lymphoma and leukemia. But, because the immune cells must be genetically engineered outside the body, treatment is lengthy, complicated and expensive.
The dual-acting, or “bispecific,” antibodies being developed by AbbVie and Genmab, Roche, and other companies like Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron, latch onto proteins on both diseased and immune cells to trigger an attack. Unlike CAR-T drugs, which are meant to be a one-time infusion, bispecific antibodies must be given regularly. In the case of this epcoritamab trial, patients received a subcutaneous shot every four weeks.
Data from 157 patients with large B cell lymphoma reported Wednesday showed that 63% responded to treatment with epcoritamab, although the company didn’t detail how many were driven into remission versus experiencing partial responses. In order to be included in the trial, patients had to have relapsed after at least two lines of therapy. Nearly 40% had previously received CAR-T treatment. READ MORE
by Jonathan Gardner
Source: biopharmadive.com
CordenPharma announced its largest strategic investment to date, committing to spend ~€900m over the next three years to enhance its peptide technology platform. The planned investment consists of two major expansion initiatives occurring in parallel in the US and Europe, including both existing facilities and new constructions.
DSM-Firmenich has announced the sale of its MEG-3 fish oil business to KD Pharma Group, a contract development and manufacturing organisation that is active in pharmaceutical and nutritional lipids. As part of the transaction, DSM-Firmenich will obtain a minority stake of 29% in KD Pharma’s parent company O³ Holding GmbH.
Veranova, a development and manufacturing of specialist and complex APIs for the pharmaceutica l and biotech sectors, recently announced the appointment of Cécile Maupas as Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer. Cécile will join the executive team and assume responsibility for business development, marketing, project management, commercial operations, and product management.
