Centivax raised an oversubscribed $45 million Series A round led by Future Ventures to advance its universal flu vaccine through Phase I clinical trials beginning within eight months.

• New data from Johnson & Johnson's Phase IIb SunRISe-1 trial demonstrates high response rates for TAR-200 in patients with BCG-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, with 82.4% achieving complete response. • The drug-device combination, which continuously delivers gemcitabine directly to the bladder over a week, showed durable efficacy with 52.9% of responders maintaining complete response at one year and a median duration of response of 25.8 months. • J&J has filed a New Drug Application with the FDA for TAR-200 in January 2025, which is being reviewed through the Real-Time Oncology Review program, potentially offering a new treatment option for a disease with few therapeutic advances in over 40 years.

• Pfizer's sasanlimab, a PD-1 inhibitor, combined with standard therapy, significantly delayed death and disease complications in bladder cancer patients. • The Phase 3 trial results position sasanlimab as a potential competitor to existing immunotherapies like Merck's Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb's Opdivo. • Sasanlimab, if approved, could become the fourth subcutaneous PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor available, offering a convenient under-the-skin administration. • Eli Lilly has licensed an experimental drug (MTX-463) for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis from Mediar Therapeutics, with Phase 2 trials planned for later this year.

Pfizer's Phase 3 CREST trial showed that sasanlimab combined with BCG significantly improved event-free survival in BCG-naive, high-risk NMIBC patients.

• A nationwide breast cancer screening program incorporating AI technology has demonstrated improved cancer detection rates in both breast CT and mammography examinations. • Researchers at Mount Sinai and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have developed an AI system that predicts immunotherapy response, potentially expanding access to these vital cancer treatments. • Three promising cancer drugs - tarlatamab, vepdegestrant, and zanzalintinib - have been identified as potentially transformative medications for 2025 by Clarivate.