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Clinical Trial News

ASP Isotopes and Isotopia Forge Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Terbium-161 Cancer Therapy Production

  • ASP Isotopes and Isotopia have entered a four-year supply agreement for enriched Gadolinium-160, addressing critical supply bottlenecks for Terbium-161 production starting in 2026.
  • The partnership leverages ASP's Quantum Enrichment technology to enable Isotopia's advancement of Tb-161-based targeted radiotherapies for prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors.
  • Terbium-161's dual mechanism of action, including Auger electron emissions, offers precise targeting of micro-metastases while minimizing damage to healthy tissues.
  • The collaboration positions both companies at the forefront of the radiopharmaceutical revolution with potential to expand cancer treatment options worldwide.

Mixed Results for Adjuvant Immunotherapy in High-Risk Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

  • The phase 3 KEYNOTE-630 trial found that adjuvant pembrolizumab did not significantly improve progression-free survival in patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma following surgery and radiation.
  • Despite missing its primary endpoint, pembrolizumab demonstrated a 50% reduction in cancer recurrence rates, with locoregional recurrence occurring in 13.8% versus 25.3% of placebo patients.
  • The competing phase 3 C-POST trial showed cemiplimab reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 68% compared to placebo, with FDA approval expected for this indication.
  • Treatment paradigms are shifting toward neoadjuvant immunotherapy approaches, with upcoming trials exploring response-adapted surgery and radiation strategies.

deepeye Medical Receives CE Mark for AI-Powered Therapy Planning Assistant for AMD Treatment

  • German healthtech company deepeye Medical has received CE mark approval for its predictive AI therapy planning assistant deepeye TPS, designed to enhance intravitreal injection therapy planning for neovascular AMD patients.
  • The AI system has been trained on thousands of patient cases from over 200 retina centers and clinically validated through collaboration projects with major pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, Bayer, and Roche.
  • The assistant analyzes OCT scans to provide disease activity assessment, 12-month therapy prognosis, and treatment recommendations, with the goal of reducing patient dropout and improving therapy adherence.
  • Clinical validation data shows the system helped triple visual acuity gains and double therapy adherence compared to other real-world studies when conducting double readings of OCT imaging.

Sandoz Launches First Interchangeable Denosumab Biosimilars in US, Expanding Access for Osteoporosis and Cancer Patients

  • Sandoz has launched WYOST® and Jubbonti®, the first and only FDA-approved interchangeable denosumab biosimilars in the United States, providing cost-effective alternatives to reference medicines XGEVA® and Prolia®.
  • The biosimilars target over 10 million US adults with osteoporosis and approximately 330,000 patients living with bone metastases from cancer.
  • Both products are human monoclonal antibodies that bind to RANKL protein and are approved for all indications of their respective reference medicines with identical dosing regimens.
  • The launch represents a significant milestone in biosimilar accessibility, potentially reducing treatment costs for patients with bone-related conditions and cancer complications.

Sanofi Acquires Blueprint Medicines for $9.1 Billion to Strengthen Rare Disease and Immunology Portfolio

  • Sanofi will acquire Blueprint Medicines Corporation for $129.00 per share in cash, representing an equity value of approximately $9.1 billion, with additional contingent value rights potentially worth $9.5 billion total.
  • The acquisition adds Ayvakit/Ayvakyt (avapritinib), the only approved medicine for advanced and indolent systemic mastocytosis, which achieved net revenues of $479 million in 2024 with over 60% year-on-year growth.
  • Blueprint's pipeline includes elenestinib, a next-generation systemic mastocytosis treatment in phase 2/3 trials, and BLU-808, a wild-type KIT inhibitor with potential for broad immunological applications.
  • The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2025 and will be immediately accretive to gross margin and accretive to business operating income and EPS after 2026.

FDA Denies Approval for Elamipretide Despite Dramatic Heart Function Improvements in Barth Syndrome Patients

  • The FDA denied approval for elamipretide, a drug treating Barth syndrome, despite an advisory committee's 10-6 recommendation for approval and documented heart function improvements from 20% to normal levels.
  • One-year-old Jaylen Karle experienced heart failure from birth due to Barth syndrome, but his heart function normalized within a month of starting elamipretide treatment in early 2024.
  • Barth syndrome affects approximately 150 people in the U.S., and families fear losing access to the experimental drug if FDA approval doesn't come within six months.
  • The FDA provided a pathway for accelerated approval, but advocates call the denial "unconscionable" given the drug's life-saving potential for this rare genetic disorder.

InnoCare Presents Promising Clinical Data for Multiple Oncology Pipeline Candidates at Major Medical Conferences

  • InnoCare presented clinical data for multiple oncology pipeline candidates at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting and EHA 2025 Congress, demonstrating significant therapeutic potential across various cancer types.
  • The BCL2 inhibitor mesutoclax (ICP-248) showed 100% overall response rates in both BTK-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma patients, with combination therapy achieving 97.6% response rates in treatment-naïve patients.
  • The pan-TRK inhibitor zurletrectinib (ICP-723) demonstrated 100% confirmed response rates in pediatric patients with NTRK fusion-positive solid tumors and 83.7% response rates in adult patients.
  • The anti-CCR8 antibody ICP-B05 achieved 33.3% partial response rates in relapsed/refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma patients, with an 82.5% six-month progression-free survival rate.

FDA Tightens Nitrosamine Testing Requirements with New Guidelines Taking Effect This August

  • The FDA's new nitrosamine guidelines, effective August 2024, expand testing requirements to cover more than 250 compounds with detection limits as low as one part per billion.
  • Since 2018, the FDA has issued over 500 drug recalls due to unacceptable nitrosamine levels, making contamination control a critical industry priority.
  • Noncompliance with the new guidelines triggers immediate FDA Class II recalls and blocks new drug approvals, requiring companies to implement robust testing programs.
  • The enhanced requirements necessitate advanced analytical equipment and specialized expertise, with SK Pharmteco reporting an eight-fold increase in nitrosamine testing services since 2020.

J INTS BIO's Fourth-Generation EGFR-TKI JIN-A02 Shows Promising Anti-Tumor Activity in Resistant NSCLC Patients

  • J INTS BIO presented interim Phase 1/2 clinical trial results for JIN-A02, a fourth-generation EGFR-TKI designed to overcome resistance mutations that develop after third-generation EGFR-TKI treatment failure.
  • Confirmed partial responses were observed across multiple dose groups, with the 50mg cohort achieving a 77.3% tumor size reduction sustained over six consecutive treatment cycles.
  • The drug demonstrated a favorable safety profile with no dose-limiting toxicities up to 300mg and showed therapeutic activity against brain metastases.
  • J INTS BIO received government recognition through the 2025 Baby Unicorn Fostering Project and plans to initiate Phase 2 trials before year-end following FDA discussions.

Imugene Activates First Australian Site for Phase II Colorectal Cancer Vaccine Trial

  • Imugene has activated its first Australian site for the Phase II Neo-POLEM trial, expanding recruitment for its PD1-Vaxx immunotherapy in both Australia and the United Kingdom.
  • The trial targets patients with mismatch repair-deficient or microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer, a genetic subtype representing about 15% of colorectal cancer cases.
  • PD1-Vaxx is a neoadjuvant B-cell vaccine designed to trigger immune responses against PD-1, administered before surgery to evaluate major pathological response and tumor shrinkage.
  • Colorectal cancer affects more than 1.2 million new patients annually worldwide, with approximately 80% presenting with localized disease yet maintaining a 50% global mortality rate.

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