Biologic Drugs in Development

Santen Pharmaceutical has concluded a licensing agreement with jCyte for the development, registration, and commercialization rights to jCell, an investigational retinitis pigmentosa therapy, in Japan, Asia, and Europe.

Catalent will manufacture a mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine for clinical trials and potential commercialization.

Trial begins in the US for the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine; manufacturing plans announced.

The extension of the company’s product offerings to include the anti-certolizumab pegol antibodies offers critical reagents for the development of assays for TNF alpha inhibitor biologics and their biosimilars.

The companies have entered into a manufacturing agreement to supply leronlimab, an investigational new drug currently being used in clinical trial protocols for COVID-19.

This milestone achievement will allow the companies to move forward with developing a GMP-compliant manufacturing process for clinical testing.

With the acquisition, Orgenesis will combine TamirBio’s ranpirnase antiviral platform with its Bioxome technology.

The partners have formed a joint venture to produce muscle-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a source of exosomes and other cellular products to develop related therapies and advance clinical trials.

Industry opportunities are increasing for biosimilars, but companies should pay close attention to delivery device design to facilitate success.

Biopharma companies responding to the COVID-19 outbreak think accelerating the development of vaccines is safe.

Demonstrating interchangeability can ensure biosimilar substitutability at the pharmacy level.

The transgenic mouse R&D platform will support the discovery of fully-human monoclonal antibodies.

Emergent BioSolutions will help develop and manufacture an oral vaccine candidate and will develop plasma-based antibody therapeutics.

The partners have initiated an observational case-control study of siltuximab in patients with COVID-19 who have developed serious respiratory complications.

The company is using its LEAPS peptide technology to develop the immunotherapy, which may be able to reduce COVID-19 viral load and tissue damage.

The new center expands the company’s R&D capabilities and will help it advance its portfolio of rare disease gene therapy programs.

Research from data and analytics company GlobalData shows that CAR-T cell therapy innovations across APAC will make the global market for these therapies more competitive.

As patent disputes within the scientific community continue, drug developers consider the intellectual property unknowns associated with this emerging technology.

Technology and capacity investments create opportunities in the cell and gene therapy arena for CDMOs and biopharma alike.

The knockout CHO K1 cell line will be used to support biotherapeutic R&D across a range of therapeutic indications.

The license gives Daiichi Sankyo access to ERS Genomics’ genome-editing technology for internal R&D initiatives.

The formation of the new gene therapy company stems from the progress and success of Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s clinical manufacturing and gene therapy work.

Under the agreement, Almirall will leverage WuXi Biologics’ proprietary WuXiBody platform to develop bispecific antibodies for dermatological diseases.

Roche will apply ProBioGen’s proprietary GlymaxX technology to boost the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity activity of antibodies.

The joint venture will develop next-generation cell and gene therapies incorporating Affimer proteins.