Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd

Biopharma updates in Asia-Pacific: deals, partnerships, grants, preclinical data, and other briefs involving Alkem, Aosaikang, Astellas, Bio-thera, Ciconia Bioventures, Gedeon Richter, Innovent, Sonnet, Sumitomo Mitsui, Takeda.

Biomimicry companies like Celtic Biotech (CB-24 for cancer), ExeVir (XVR011 for COVID-19), Fauna Bio (AI platform for disease resistance), Isogenica (camelid-derived VHHs), and Soricimed (SOR-C13 for cancer) are harnessing nature's wisdom to develop novel therapeutic targets and drugs, focusing on extreme metabolic changes, obesity resistance, muscle preservation, and cancer treatment.

Pfizer withdrew Oxbryta from global markets due to increased risk of death, joining other drugs like Aduhelm, Exkivity, Ukoniq, and Zydelig that were approved under the FDA's accelerated pathway but later withdrawn. The pathway, implemented in 1992, has helped bring nearly 300 drugs to market but faces scrutiny over delayed confirmatory trials and surrogate endpoints. Sarepta's Elevidys is an exception, securing full approval despite missing primary efficacy endpoints.

Competition authorities are expanding their review of pharmaceutical deals, focusing on whether existing tools for identifying and remedying competition issues are sufficient. The Multilateral Pharmaceutical Merger Task Force explores new enforcement approaches, considering factors like innovation effects, conglomerate effects, and coordinated effects. Authorities in regions like the EU, US, and APAC assess theories of harm, market definitions, and legal standards, with remedies often involving divestitures to ensure market competition.

Biopharma updates: deals, partnerships, grants, preclinical data, and other news involving Alkem, Astellas, Bio-Thera, Boehringer, Ciconia, Circle Pharma, Eli Lilly, Gedeon Richter, Gemma, Insitro, Johnson & Johnson, Nona, Overt Bio, Qinotto, Sonnet, Sumitomo, Takeda, Xortx.

6% of U.S. adults have ADHD; 71.5% of those on stimulant meds face difficulties due to drug shortages, impacting treatment and increasing risks.

The World Companion Diagnostics & Liquid Biopsy Summit APAC, Nov 13-14, 2024 in Singapore, brings together experts to discuss NGS, biomarker development, and clinical trial assay advancements. The event offers networking, insights, and discussions on regulatory guidelines, market access, and novel technologies for precision medicine.

A study found that measuring circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at the onset of metastatic prostate cancer can predict treatment response and survival, guiding treatment decisions and clinical trial eligibility.

Avacta Therapeutics collaborates with Tempus AI to enhance oncology drug development using Tempus' extensive cancer patient data. This partnership aims to deepen understanding of tumour microenvironment and FAP activity, crucial for Avacta's pre|CISION technology, potentially accelerating effective cancer treatments and expanding patient reach for clinical programmes.

Tempus AI and Takeda expand their collaboration to enhance oncology R&D, leveraging Tempus' datasets and biological modeling to advance Takeda's cancer therapy pipeline, including small molecules and antibody-drug conjugates. The partnership aims to accelerate drug development insights using Tempus' analytics platform, Lens, and a multi-phase biological modeling project with patient-derived tumor organoids.