Clinical Trial News
GSK Partners with Exscientia in £33M AI-Driven Drug Discovery Alliance
- GlaxoSmithKline has formed a strategic alliance with UK-based Exscientia to leverage artificial intelligence for accelerating drug discovery across 10 disease areas, with potential milestone payments of £33 million.
- Exscientia's AI platform has demonstrated ability to deliver candidate molecules in one-quarter of the traditional time and cost, promising significant efficiency gains in early-stage drug development.
- The collaboration builds on Exscientia's growing portfolio of partnerships, including recent €250M Sanofi deal, positioning the company as a leading AI-driven drug discovery innovator.
Alder BioPharmaceuticals Announces Positive Eptinezumab Phase 3 Results for Migraine Prevention
Alder BioPharmaceuticals has reported positive top-line results from its Phase 3 PROMISE 1 clinical trial for eptinezumab, a treatment aimed at preventing frequent episodic migraines. The trial met its primary and key secondary endpoints, showing significant reductions in monthly migraine days and a notable proportion of patients experiencing no migraines in any given month over six months.
Immunotherapy for Glioblastoma Shows Promise in Early Study
A phase 1 study involving 11 glioblastoma patients treated with a dendritic cell vaccine and chemotherapy showed the combination was well tolerated and resulted in significant survival gains, with some patients surviving over 5 years. The study, published by Duke researchers, suggests potential benefits of combining immunotherapy with intensified chemotherapy regimens.
Clinical Trial Data Sharing Initiatives Drive Innovation and Efficiency in Drug Development
- TransCelerate's Placebo & Standard of Care Data Sharing Initiative has established a repository containing data from 67,000 patients across 90 clinical trials, reducing study time by 30% in preliminary results.
- Industry-wide momentum for clinical trial data sharing is growing, with major stakeholders including FDA, EMA, and medical journals implementing new policies to promote transparency and collaboration.
- The Comparator Network Initiative has facilitated over $120 million in transactions, achieving 10-12% cost savings while enhancing drug supply chain safety and reducing investigational product waste.
Actinium Pharmaceuticals' Actimab-A Receives Orphan Designation in the EU for AML Treatment
- Actimab-A has been granted orphan designation in the European Union by the EMA for treating newly diagnosed AML patients over 60 ineligible for standard induction therapy.
- The orphan designation provides Actinium with increased regulatory communication, guidance, and potential for 10-year market exclusivity in the EU upon marketing authorization.
- Actimab-A targets CD33, a protein expressed on AML cells, using the monoclonal antibody HuM195 linked to the radioisotope actinium-225, delivering targeted alpha particle immunotherapy.
- A multi-center Phase 2 clinical trial is currently enrolling 53 patients to evaluate Actimab-A as a first-line therapy for elderly AML patients who lack effective treatment options.
Dynamic Consent Platforms: Revolutionizing Clinical Trial Participation and Data Management
- Dynamic consent technology enables personalized online platforms for managing informed consent in clinical trials, allowing participants to update their preferences and maintain ongoing dialogue with researchers.
- A pioneering app developed at Radboud University Medical Centre empowers patients to create custom data-sharing policies and manage consent preferences through an intuitive mobile interface.
- Implementation of dynamic consent platforms could significantly improve trial recruitment, participant retention, and data management efficiency while addressing current challenges in biomedical research participation.
Celltrion Pursues Novel Multi-Brand Strategy for Rituximab Biosimilar in EU Market
• Celltrion has received European regulatory approval to market its rituximab biosimilar under four different brand names - Truxima, Tuxella, Ritemvia, and Blitzima - in a unique market strategy.
• The company's approach aims to maximize market share through potential partnerships with multiple distributors, building on their successful dual-brand strategy with their infliximab biosimilar.
• Strategic differences in marketing authorizations include specific indications, with Ritemvia approved for chronic lymphocytic leukemia while Blitzima and Tuxella exclude this indication.
Tirzepatide Shows Superior Weight Loss Efficacy Over Semaglutide in Real-World Study
- Real-world analysis of over 41,000 adults with overweight or obesity found tirzepatide users were significantly more likely to achieve clinically meaningful weight loss compared to semaglutide users.
- Patients on tirzepatide achieved 15.2% average weight reduction at 12 months versus 7.9% with semaglutide, with 42.3% of tirzepatide users reaching ≥15% weight loss compared to only 19.3% of semaglutide users.
- Both medications showed similar gastrointestinal adverse event profiles, with no significant differences in the incidence of side effects between treatment groups.
Highlighted Clinical Trials:
Eli Lilly and Company
Posted 4/21/2023
FDA Approves Fourth ALK Inhibitor for Lung Cancer
The FDA has approved brigatinib (Alunbrig) for treating certain patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) driven by ALK gene mutations, especially those not responding to crizotinib. This approval is based on the phase II ALTA clinical trial results, showing significant tumor shrinkage in patients.
FDA's Drug Trials Snapshots Highlight Sex Disparities in Cardiovascular Drug Trials
- FDA's Drug Trials Snapshots program reveals demographic data and subgroup analysis for newly approved drugs, enhancing transparency.
- Cardiovascular drug trials in 2015 showed disproportionately low enrollment of women, representing only 35% of participants.
- While efficacy was generally similar between sexes, safety statements varied between Snapshots and Prescribing Information (PI), particularly regarding bleeding risks.
- The FDA aims to collaborate with the cardiology community to address the underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular clinical trials.