Just days after Bahija Jallal announced her decision to leave her post at the top of AstraZeneca’s big biologics subsidiary MedImmune and take the helm at Immunocore, the pharma giant is shaking up its R&D leadership and bringing in a controversial new head of oncology R&D.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

Idorsia’s long journey with clazosentan came to an abrupt “unexpected result” Monday morning with a Phase III flop.

The Swiss biopharma said the drug did not meet the main goal of the late-stage REACT study, conducted in the US, Canada and Europe since early 2019.

The 409-patient trial tested the intravenous drug’s ability to prevent complications due to delayed cerebral ischemia following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), in which blood vessels in the brain narrow and blood accumulates around the brain’s surface, which then dials up the pressure on the brain.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

Five years into its big R&D revamp, Astellas says it’s time for a changing of the guard.

Kenji Yasukawa, who took over as president and CEO in 2018, will step down to become chairman of the board in April, making room for Naoki Okamura to take over. Okamura joined the company in 1986 and has served in a variety of finance, business and strategy roles, including most recently as chief strategy officer.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

Welcome back to Endpoints Weekly, your review of the week’s top biopharma headlines. Want this in your inbox every Saturday morning? Current Endpoints readers can visit their reader profile to add Endpoints Weekly. New to Endpoints? Sign up here.

With earnings seasons in full swing, we’ve listened in on all the calls so you don’t have to. But news is popping up from all corners, so make sure you check out our other updates, too.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

Magenta Therapeutics said it is halting work on its stem cell transplant drug pipeline and may sell itself, a week after the company reported the death of a patient in an early stage trial of its antibody-drug conjugate.

The Cambridge, MA-based company said it will conduct a “review of strategic alternatives,” and that could include an “acquisition, merger, business combination, or other transaction.”

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

The use of real-world evidence to inform the FDA’s decision-making continues apace, with the agency releasing new draft guidance yesterday on how sponsors can compare outcomes of trial participants receiving a test treatment with outcomes in a group of people external to the trial.

The practice of externally controlled trials is common, particularly in oncology or other difficult areas where it’s not ethical or feasible to use internal controls.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

As fourth quarter earnings come in, Big Pharmas are disclosing changes to their pipelines during their investor calls, and sometimes more quietly in presentation appendices.

Merck dropped its chikungunya vaccine candidate, which completed a Phase II study. Merck acquired the vaccine through its purchase of Themis Bioscience in 2020. In developing a vaccine for chikungunya, a mosquito-borne virus, Valneva is the frontrunner, as it submitted its vaccine to the FDA at the end of December.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

Karuna Therapeutics is looking to compete with Boehringer Ingelheim on depression and anxiety with a new license to Goldfinch Bio’s assets, starting with $15 million to the shuttered biotech.

Karuna steps into an arena already being tested by Boehringer in multiple Phase II studies — the two are targeting transient receptor potential canonical 4 and 5, or TRPC4/5, which is thought to have a role in neuroscience indications. Goldfinch’s asset went through a Phase II in kidney diseases, but Karuna’s sights are set on mood and anxiety disorders for now.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN

Simba Gill will be staying put as CEO of Evelo Biosciences for now.

Gill announced last year that he would be leaving the head position at Evelo to take on the role of executive partner at Flagship Pioneering. He was aiming to stay on until a successor was selected, but there’s a new course of action in the wake of a Phase II miss and a reduced headcount.

“I want to emphasize that I remain personally committed to Evelo and staying on to lead the organization. I continue to believe that Evelo is a remarkable opportunity in terms of the science, the platform, the type of products that we’re able to produce, and most importantly, the potential of millions of patients suffering from all stages of inflammatory disease,” Gill said on a conference call.

Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription

Unlock this story instantly and join 158,600+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it's free.

SIGN UP LOG IN