Macrogenics

Specialised Therapeutics has expanded its partnership with Incyte to include axatilimab and retifanlimab for distribution in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, with potential expansion to other Asia-Pacific countries.

• Akari Therapeutics has appointed Mark F. Kubik as Head of Business Development - Oncology, bringing over 25 years of experience in transformative deal creation across oncology therapeutics. • Kubik will lead business development activities for Akari's novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform and its lead asset AKTX-101, which utilizes a first-in-class spliceosome inhibitor payload. • The strategic hire aims to position Akari as a key player in the growing ADC market, capitalizing on increasing Big Pharma interest in early-stage ADC technologies with novel mechanisms of action.

MacroGenics' officers and directors face a shareholder derivative action alleging breached fiduciary duties after announcing a probe into study participant deaths.

MacroGenics announced updated Phase 2 TAMARACK study data for vobramitamab duocarmazine (vobra duo) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

MacroGenics announced updated Phase 2 TAMARACK study data, showcasing vobramitamab duocarmazine's (vobra duo) encouraging antitumor activity in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

MacroGenics announced Phase 2 data for vobramitamab duocarmazine (vobra duo) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) at ESMO 2024.

• Byondis is developing trastuzumab duocarmazine (SYD985), an innovative antibody-drug conjugate targeting HER2, for multiple cancer indications including breast, gastric, and urothelial cancers. • The Dutch pharmaceutical company's lead candidate employs a novel duocarmycin-based HER2-targeting mechanism, expanding treatment options for solid tumors that overexpress HER2. • Byondis is advancing its development program through strategic collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies including Amgen, Allergan, and Macrogenics, alongside academic institutions.

A novel bispecific immunotherapy drug, tebotelimab, demonstrated encouraging response rates across multiple advanced cancer types by simultaneously blocking PD-1 and LAG-3 immune checkpoints in a 269-patient international trial.

• Johnson & Johnson's Rybrevant approval marks the growing potential of bispecific antibodies in cancer therapy, targeting two proteins simultaneously to enhance efficacy. • Bispecific antibodies are being developed for various hematological malignancies like lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia, with some also targeting solid tumors like lung and prostate cancer. • Clinical trials are actively evaluating bispecific antibodies that bind to CD3 on T cells and tumor-specific antigens, such as CD20 in lymphoma and BCMA in multiple myeloma. • Several companies, including Roche, AbbVie, Genmab, Pfizer, and Regeneron, are advancing bispecific antibody candidates through Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials, indicating a competitive landscape.