BUSINESS INSIGHTS

CATO SMS Acquires Nuventra in order to Expand its Drug Development Offering Into Clinical Pharmacology

Nuventra, CATO SMS | May 27, 2021

CATO SMS, a global provider of regulatory and clinical research services, announced today the acquisition of Nuventra, Inc., to expand its offering into the critical area of clinical pharmacology. Nuventra, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, is a leading company in clinical pharmacology science and services. The acquisition expands CATO SMS's portfolio of specialized solutions that help biopharmaceutical companies with drug development by providing a key set of skills targeted at significantly reducing development risk, costs, and timelines.

CATO SMS now provides customers cutting-edge clinical pharmacology services such as strategic consulting, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), pharmacometrics (population PK), and biosimulation. Nuventra is well-known for its track record of transforming complex data into meaningful insights for over 650 biopharmaceutical companies across a wide range of therapeutic areas. Its team of scientific experts and senior consultants use the most advanced mathematical modeling tools in the industry to inform clinical design and predict trial outcomes.

Nuventra's range of solutions include:

• pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), which describes the movement of drugs through the body from absorption to elimination (PK), as well as the body's biological response to drugs (PD) to determine optimal dosing paradigms, safety margins, and efficacy characteristics.

• population pharmacokinetics (popPK and popPK/PD), which studies the variability in drug concentrations among individuals in a group of interest receiving clinically relevant doses of a drug.

• clinical pharmacology strategic consulting, which includes overall and targeted clinical pharmacology strategy in support of marketing applications for drugs and biologics.

• physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK), which incorporates blood flow and tissue composition of organs to predict the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of drugs.

• quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP), which models the interplay of the drug (dose, dosing regimen, etc.) with target biology, using computational systems to characterize the interaction between drugs, biological systems, and disease processes.

• model-informed drug development (MIDD), which uses modeling techniques to improve the decision-making process in drug development, thereby leading to clinical trial efficiencies and, in some cases, replacing trials altogether.

About Nuventra
Nuventra is the pharmaceutical industry's preferred provider of clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacometrics consulting services. Nuventra provides pharmaceutical companies and contracts research organizations (CROs) with unique access to a hands-on team of industry-leading consultants with extensive experience in complex studies and analyses. By taking complex pharmacokinetic and pharmacometrics concepts and making them understandable and usable for common sense drug development, we embrace the notion that simplicity and clarity lead to smart decisions.

About CATO SMS
CATO SMS is a provider of specialized clinical research solutions formed in 2019 by the merger of Cato Research and SMS-oncology. CATO SMS, with over 30 years of professional experience focusing on the needs of small and emerging biopharmaceutical companies, effectively designs and executes studies from strategy to approval in complex indications and modalities throughout a wide range of therapeutic areas, with a proven center of excellence in oncology. The regulatory, therapeutic, and operational expertise of CATO SMS enables the company to meet and exceed expectations.

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Lyra Completes Enrollment in LYR-220 BEACON Phase 2 Clinical Trial

Lyra Therapeutics | February 08, 2023

On February 6, 2023, Lyra Therapeutics, Inc., a leading clinical-stage biotechnology firm developing novel therapies for the localized treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), announced that enrollment in the Phase 2 BEACON clinical trial of LYR-220 in adult patients with CRS who have previously undergone sinus surgery has been completed. LYR-220 is designed to provide continuous anti-inflammatory medicine (mometasone furoate; MF) to the sinonasal passageways for six months in order to treat CRS. Topline outcomes are expected in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Phase 2 BEACON trial is a sham-controlled, parallel-group trial designed to assess the efficacy and safety of the LYR-220 (7500g MF) matrix in symptomatic adult CRS patients who have previously had bilateral ethmoid sinus surgery during a 24-week period. The trial is divided into two parts: Part 1 was aimed to examine the feasibility and tolerability of two 7500µg MF matrix designs; in Part 2, 40 patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive LYR-220 or sham control. Lyra revealed positive preliminary findings from the BEACON trial's Part 1, the non-randomized portion, in September 2022, indicating the feasibility and tolerability of bilateral LYR-220 placement in this patient population. In addition, all six patients were given the medication for at least six weeks, and no significant or unexpected side effects were recorded. Although efficacy evaluation was not the goal of the trial's uncontrolled Part 1 stage, there was a mean improvement of 21 points (37%) from baseline in the 22-item Sino-nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) total score at six weeks. This is more than double the minimal clinically significant difference of 8.9 points. About Lyra Therapeutics Founded in 2018, Lyra Therapeutics is a clinical-stage firm pioneering a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of debilitating ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases that affect millions of people. Its mission is to change the ENT treatment paradigm by giving physicians effective front-line solutions and innovative therapy alternatives for their patients. The company is working on therapeutics for the localized treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis patients (CRS). Lyra has two investigational product candidates, LYR-210 and LYR-220, in late-stage development for CRS, which is a common inflammatory disease of the paranasal sinuses that causes debilitating symptoms and significant morbidities. It is headquartered in the Boston region and was created by academic luminaries in the disciplines of chemistry, materials science, and biotechnology, and is supported by top life science investors.

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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH

Cambrex Announces the Acquisition of Snapdragon Chemistry

Cambrex | January 24, 2023

Cambrex, a renowned global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) offering drug substance, product, and analytical services throughout the drug lifecycle, recently announced the completion of its acquisition of Snapdragon Chemistry, a US-based provider of chemical process development services to a diverse range of emerging and established biopharma customers. Snapdragon Chemistry specializes in the development of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) batch and continuous flow processes, employing cutting-edge automated technology and proprietary equipment to address complicated process and analytical development challenges. With its headquarters for R&D and manufacturing in Waltham, Massachusetts, Snapdragon's 70+ employees, including 31 Ph.D. scientists, have strong ties to the local scientific community. Cambrex's CEO Tom Loewald commented, "Today, we welcome our new colleagues from Snapdragon to Cambrex." He added, "With Snapdragon's depth of scientific expertise in API process development, I'm certain our customers will see the benefits of this combination and be delighted to work with Snapdragon's team." (Source – PR Newswire) Cambrex's portfolio of specialized pharmaceutical development and manufacturing solutions continues to grow, with Snapdragon reinforcing its experience in continuous flow production in addition to augmenting the recent investments in continuous flow process development capabilities at its North Carolina facility in High Point. Snapdragon's CEO Matt Bio said, "I am extremely proud of what our team at Snapdragon has built over the years." He further added, "With Cambrex, we have found an ideal home for our customers and employees, and I look forward to continued success as part of Cambrex." (Source – PR Newswire) About Cambrex Founded in 1981, Cambrex is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that offers drug substances, products, and analytical services throughout the drug lifecycle. It provides a variety of specialized medicinal substance technologies and capabilities, such as controlled substances, biocatalysis, continuous flow, material characterization, solid-state science, stability storage and testing, and potent APIs. Cambrex is a trusted partner in the branded and generic markets for the development and manufacturing of API and finished dosage forms. With over 40 years of experience, it has a growing workforce of over 2,300 specialists serving global clients from North America and Europe.

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Caris Life Sciences and Xencor Expand Target Discovery Collaboration

Caris Life Sciences and Xencor | January 06, 2023

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