BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
Avacta | January 23, 2023
Avacta Group plc, a leading life sciences company focused on developing innovative, targeted oncology medicines and powerful diagnostics, recently announced that AVA6000 has maintained a very favorable safety profile in the fourth dose cohort of the ALS-6000-101 dose escalation phase 1 clinical trial. Furthermore, analysis of tumor samples acquired from six patients across multiple cohorts shows that doxorubicin is being released within the tumor tissue, supporting the pre|CISIONTM technology's tumor-targeting capability.
Patients in cohort 4 continue to tolerate AVA6000 well, with a significant decrease in the occurrence and severity of the commonly associated toxicities with the administration of traditional doxorubicin treatment. Nausea, vomiting, Alopecia, mucositis, myelosuppression, and cardiotoxicity are all among the typical toxicities. Notably, the typical drug-related cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin was not found even at the highest dosage levels in group 4, equivalent to more than double the standard dose of doxorubicin.
In order to confirm the release of the active chemotherapy, doxorubicin, in tumor tissue, several tumor biopsies acquired from patients in different cohorts have been analyzed. This analysis demonstrates that AVA6000 targets the release of doxorubicin to tumor tissue at therapeutic levels that are significantly higher than those detected in the bloodstream at the same time point.
To date, AVA6000 has been administered to 19 patients with advanced and/or metastatic solid tumors who were enrolled across four groups. Based on the very favorable safety profile of AVA6000 in the study thus far, the Safety Data Monitoring Committee (SDMC) has recommended that the study be extended to higher dose cohorts in order to identify a maximum tolerated dose (MTD) required to inform dosing levels for the phase 1b and future studies. The Company anticipates completing these additional cohorts within the first half of 2023.
About Avacta
Avacta is a healthcare group that promotes human health and well-being by creating new cancer treatments and powerful in vitro diagnostics. Its mission is to create the future of medicine by producing safe and effective medications as well as high-performance diagnostics using its unique Affimer® and pre|CISIONᵀᴹ platforms. By merging these two platforms, the Company is constructing a pipeline of innovative cancer therapeutics to fulfil its goal of developing successful treatments for all cancer patients, including those who do not react to current immunotherapies.
Read More
BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
Certara | January 05, 2023
Certara, Inc. announced the acquisition of Vyasa Analytics, LLC, which offers scalable deep-learning software that enables life sciences enterprises to make predictions and answer complicated queries across structured and unstructured bio-medical data. The acquisition will improve Certara's software by giving its end-to-end platform cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) features.
Certara said it was excited to announce that it had bought Vyasa, a cutting-edge company that would improve its software platforms and give it more options across many product lines. It went on to say that by introducing AI into its product line, the company is establishing capabilities that will allow it to maintain its leadership in biosimulation use cases in drug research and development.
Established in 2017, Vyasa software offers businesses a revolutionary artificial intelligence-powered platform that allows them to integrate and analyze material across their company data landscape. LAYAR is a flexible, modular data fabric that can be used to analyze numbers, words, and pictures. It is Vyasa's most important product. It uses artificial intelligence to help people make better decisions during all stages of drug development.
About Certara
Certara, a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm with headquarters in Princeton, is focused on accelerating the creation of medications by transforming the traditional drug discovery and development process utilizing its biosimulation software, technology, and services. There are around 2,000 biopharmaceutical businesses, academic institutions, and regulatory bodies from 62 countries among its clientele.
Read More
PHARMACY MARKET, PHARMA TECH
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Zymeworks Inc. | December 28, 2022
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc and Zymeworks Inc. recently informed that the former has chosen to keep its exclusive rights to develop and sell Zymeworks' Zanidatamab in key markets, such as the U.S., Europe, and Japan, as part of the license and collaboration agreement made in October 2022.
A pivotal trial in previously treated HER2-amplified biliary tract tumors (BTC) found that 41.3% (95% CI: 30.4, 52.8) of recruited patients with HER2-amplified and expressing (IHC2+ and 3+) illness achieved an objective response as judged by independent central review. The median response length was 12.9 months (95% CI: 5.95 to not attained). In this trial, Zanidatamab's safety profile was similar to what had been found in previous studies of monotherapy, while no new safety signals were found.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals stated that the compelling top-line clinical data from the pivotal study in patients with BTC demonstrated the transformative potential of Zanidatamab. This big win gives the company more confidence that it can make this medicine better for cancer patients who have big unmet needs. Even though its main focus will be on the ongoing clinical trials for BTC and GEA, these data will add to the growing amount of evidence that Zanidatamab is effective against a wide range of HER2-expressing cancers.
Zymeworks expressed that the collaboration with Jazz is going well, which will speed up the global development of Zanidatamab in many types of cancer and may give patients with hard-to-treat cancers and few treatment options access to a basic HER2-targeted drug.
Jazz will pay Zymeworks $325 million to exercise its option to develop and sell Zanidatamab in all countries except Asia-Pacific in the fourth quarter of 2022.
About Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2003 and located in Dublin (Ireland), innovates to improve the lives of patients and their families. The company transforms biopharmaceutical discoveries into innovative medications to reimagine what's possible.
About Zymeworks
Zymeworks develops next-generation multifunctional biotherapeutics. Zanidatamab is a new Azymetric™ HER2-targeted bispecific antibody being examined in numerous Phase 1, Phase 2, and pivotal clinical trials globally as a targeted therapeutic option for patients with HER2-positive solid tumors. Zanidatamab Zovodotin (ZW49) is a bispecific antibody-drug combination in Phase 1 clinical development. It combines Zanidatamab's unique design and antibody framework with Zymeworks' ZymeLink™ linker-cytotoxin.
Read More