Through a spate of dealmaking over the past few years, Sanofi has made its intentions in the gene and cell therapy field clear. The company seems uninterested in hard-to-manufacture treatments that consist of individual patient cells genetically modified outside the body, instead favoring ones meant to be used “off the shelf.”
In 2020, for instance, the French drugmaker bought Kiadis Pharma, which is working on more convenient cell treatments for cancer. Sanofi acquired another off-the-shelf cell therapy developer, Tidal Therapeutics, the following year, and envisions its recent investments in messenger RNA technology as aiding in the effort.
In doing so, Sanofi isn’t just bypassing the first generation of so-called CAR-T therapies, which are powerful tools against certain blood cancers but are limited by their complexity. It’s also casting aside outside-the-body treatments for genetic diseases, a class that includes drugs from CRISPR Therapeutics and Bluebird bio that have shown considerable promise treating blood diseases like beta thalassemia and sickle cell. READ MORE
By Ben Fidler
Source: biopharmadive.com
Novartis will acquire Mariana’s lead candidate MC-339, a radioligand therapy (RLT) designed to target small-cell lung cancer. Last year, Mariana had raised $175m in a Series B round from several funds and pharma giant Eli Lilly.
The company’s aspiration to expand the use of its obesity products to cardiovascular indications has been successful. In March, its blockbuster drug Wegovy was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in obese or overweight adults.
Massachusetts-based Deciphera brings to the table an extensive kinase inhibitor pipeline, kinase drug discovery expertise, and a strong commercial and sales platform in the US and European markets that is meant to advance Ono’s capabilities and presence in the oncology space.
