BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
ClinChoice | March 03, 2023
ClinChoice, a leading global clinical CRO, recently announced that it has acquired CROMSOURCE S.r.l., an ISO-certified full-service contract research organization. CROMSOURCE has its corporate headquarters in Verona, Italy, its US headquarters in Cary, NC, and subsidiaries in the US and seven countries throughout eastern and western Europe.
With a proven track record of providing excellent clinical research and staffing services to multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device clients, CROMSOURCE's acquisition will strengthen ClinChoice's global network and further enhance its full-service capabilities.
ClinChoice is known for its commitment to providing high-quality services and timely delivery, resulting in the successful completion of clinical trials and functions, including regulatory, biometrics, safety, medical, and clinical operations across various sectors such as drug, medical devices, vaccines, cosmetics, and consumer health using both project-based and FSP models.
The company offers services covering the development lifecycle for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, consumer products and medical device companies worldwide. With a broad clientele ranging from the largest multinationals to startup and emerging companies, ClinChoice has completed over 1,500 clinical studies in various therapeutic areas such as CNS, oncology, ophthalmology, rare disease, respiratory and metabolic.
CROMSOURCE's acquisition was advised by Fairmount Partners, while Crosstree Capital represented ClinChoice.
About ClinChoice
ClinChoice is a leading global clinical CRO that provides comprehensive services to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, and consumer products clients worldwide. With a successful 25-year track record, it is considered the standard for excellence in clinical operations, biostatistics, data management, CDISC, statistical programming, regulatory affairs, medical affairs, and pharmacovigilance. The company has established major delivery centers in Europe, the US, Canada, China, India, Japan, and the Philippines, employing over 3,000 people worldwide. ClinChoice has a strong and talented team and is expanding its clinical operations in seven countries across North America, Asia, and Europe.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
Sumitovant Biopharma, Inc. | January 20, 2023
On January 19, 2023, Neochromosome, Inc., announced a partnership with Sumitovant Biopharma, Inc., a technology-driven biopharmaceutical firm expediting the discovery and commercialization of novel therapeutics.
This collaboration blends Neochromosome's neoYeast™ platform with Sumitovant's DrugOME™ computational ecosystem to identify new proteins that would benefit from non-canonical amino acid chemistries that are unavailable in nature.
As part of the collaboration, Sumitovant used a combination of natural language processing (NLP), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and computational algorithms to identify opportunities for Neochromosome to enhance the discovery and production of proteins limited by evolution and traditional fabrication processes. For example, non-canonical amino acid inclusion allows new-to-nature proteins with improved structures and functions but often requires chemical synthesis, which is expensive, size- and complexity-restricted, and environmentally damaging.
neoYeast™, based on Neochromosome's world-leading genome-scale cell engineering technology stack, enables the highly efficient and environmentally friendly integration of non-canonical amino acids into proteins, with both discovery and manufacturing possible in a single genome-engineered yeast strain. Sumitovant used DrugOME to explore libraries of traditional and non-traditional sources of data to recommend targeted protein development candidates for neoYeast.
Co-Founder and CEO of Neochromosome, Leslie Mitchell, commented, "The combination of Sumitovant's technology platform and life-sciences expertise with Neochromosome's ability to both discover and biomanufacture novel proteins in a single system enables Neochromosome to accelerate and streamline the delivery of better therapies for patients." She added, "We are excited to partner with the world-class team at Sumitovant to identify opportunities to create better versions of existing drugs, along with new-to-nature compounds, and to manufacture them efficiently at scale."
(Source – Business Wire)
Sumitovant Biopharma, Inc.
The firm has supported the development of multiple FDA-approved products and a strong pipeline of early-through late-stage investigational assets addressing unmet needs in pediatrics, oncology, urology, women's health, specialty respiratory, and infectious diseases through its proprietary computing and data platforms, scientific expertise, and diverse company portfolio. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH
Innate Pharma | January 17, 2023
On January 16, 2023, Innate Pharma SA announced the publication of preclinical findings demonstrating the control of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells by a trifunctional NKp46-CD16a-NK cell engager (NKCE) targeting CD123 in the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology. Innate and Sanofi conducted the experiments, which were published in Nature Biotechnology on January 12, 2023.
This study demonstrates that CD64 expression on AML blasts imparts resistance to anti-CD123 antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) and that redirecting NK cells against cancer targets by binding to CD16a and NKp46 circumvents this resistance. Moreover, through their binding to NKp46, CD123-NKCE primarily target NK cells and have substantial antitumor activity against primary AML blasts; they stimulate NK cell activation and cytokine secretion exclusively in AML cells' presence.
In vivo, its antitumor activity observed in a mouse tumor model surpasses that of the anti-CD123 antibody used as the comparator. Furthermore, in vitro in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in vivo in nonhuman primates, the efficacy of CD123-NKCE was associated with the induction of low pro-inflammatory cytokine release and the absence of toxicity.
These results support CD123-NKCE clinical development. IPH6101/SAR'579 (SAR443579), the first NKp46/CD16-based CD123-targeted ANKETTM NK cell engager, is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial by Sanofi in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML), B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS).
About Innate Pharma
Headquartered in Marseille (France), Innate Pharma SA is a global, clinical-stage oncology-focused biotech firm dedicated to enhancing patient treatment and clinical outcomes using therapeutic antibodies that employ the immune system to combat cancer. Its extensive antibody pipeline has numerous potentially first-in-class clinical and preclinical candidates for cancers with a high unmet medical need. In addition, Innate has been a pioneer in the study of natural killer cell (NK cell) biology and developed its expertise in tumor antigens, tumor microenvironment, and antibody engineering. This innovative strategy has resulted in a varied proprietary portfolio and substantial alliances with biopharmaceutical industry leaders, including Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk A/S, and a multi-product collaboration with AstraZeneca.
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