MorphoSys

Novo Holdings completes $16.5B Catalent Pharma Solutions buyout. Merck pays $112M upfront for obesity pill. Ottimo Pharma raises $140M for cancer therapy. Novo Nordisk invests $1.2B in Denmark factory. Angitia Biopharmaceuticals raises $120M for musculoskeletal candidates. Novartis closes MorphoSys sites, laying off 330. SiteOne Therapeutics secures $100M for non-opioid pain drugs. Novo Nordisk's obesity drug underperforms. Bristol Myers Squibb invests $100M in BioArctic's Alzheimer antibodies. Sudan's healthcare collapses. Tonix Pharmaceuticals files NDA for fibromyalgia drug. Neurocrine Biosciences wins FDA approval for Crenessity. Edgewise Therapeutics discusses accelerated approval for Becker muscular dystrophy. FDA places partial hold on PepGen's Duchenne therapy. Checkpoint Therapeutics' immunotherapy approved. WHO opens Academy in Lyon. GSK's Jemperli earns FDA Breakthrough status. Sanofi's duvakitug shows remission in ulcerative colitis. Sandoz agrees to $275M settlement over drug pricing. Pfizer projects 2025 earnings. Mesoblast's Ryoncil approved as 1st MSC therapy for graft-vs-host disease.

Novartis plans to close MorphoSys' U.S. and German sites, affecting 330 jobs, due to R&D priorities and pelabresib approval delays. Despite safety concerns, Novartis acquired MorphoSys for $2.9B to access pelabresib, now delayed until at least 2027 for regulatory submission. Novartis has been restructuring, including a 2022 major restructuring and shutting a San Diego gene therapy facility.

The inMIND trial showed Monjuvi + Rituxan + Revlimid improved progression-free survival (PFS) to 22.4 months vs. 13.9 months for placebo in R/R follicular lymphoma. Key secondary endpoints also favored the experimental arm. Monjuvi aims to become a new standard-of-care option, with potential competition from other therapies.

Incyte to present new oncology data at 2024 ASH Annual Meeting, including late-breaking results from the Phase 3 inMIND study on tafasitamab in follicular lymphoma. The company will also host a virtual analyst and investor event on December 12, 2024, to discuss key data presentations.

Incyte presents 20 oncology data presentations at 2024 ASH Annual Meeting, including Phase 3 inMIND study results on tafasitamab in follicular lymphoma. Hosts virtual analyst and investor event on December 12, 2024.

Tango Therapeutics reports Q3 2024 financials, highlighting progress in PRMT5 inhibitor TNG462 clinical trials, including positive data in pancreatic and NSCLC. The company plans to advance TNG462 into combination trials with RAS(ON) inhibitors and other treatments, expecting enrollment in 1H 2025. TNG908 trial enrollment is halted to focus on TNG462. Tango also announces the appointment of Dr. Maeve Waldron-Lynch as SVP, Head of Clinical Development.

Incyte pauses Phase 2 study of INCB000262 due to toxicology findings, and scraps INCB000547 after Phase 2 results. These setbacks impact Incyte's diversification efforts from Jakafi, which faces competition and patent issues. Investors focus shifts to povorcitinib's Phase 3 readout for hidradenitis suppurativa.

IgA nephropathy affects 25-50 per million annually, with 20–40% progressing to end-stage kidney disease. Diagnosed cases in the US are expected to reach 135,000 by 2030. Treatments include ACE inhibitors, ARBs, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants. FDA-approved treatments are TARPEYO, FILSPARI, and FABHALTA. The IgA nephropathy market is projected to reach ~USD 4.1 billion by 2034, driven by novel therapies like Novartis’ Atrasentan, Otsuka/Visterra’s Sibeprenlimab, Vertex/Alpine’s Povetacicept, and others.

Verona Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on respiratory disease treatments, with ensifentrine in Phase 3 trials for COPD, asthma, and cystic fibrosis. Caligan Partners LP, an activist investor, sees potential in Verona's ensifentrine, predicting significant revenue growth and possible indication expansion for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.