TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
🇮🇱Israel
- Country
- 🇮🇱Israel
- Ownership
- -
- Established
- 1956-01-01
- Employees
- -
- Market Cap
- -
- Website
- https://www.tau.ac.il/
Merck KGaA Joins Peregrine Ventures' Incentive Incubator as Strategic Partner
• Merck KGaA has become a strategic partner in Peregrine Ventures' Incentive Incubator, gaining early access to startups in bioconvergence, pharma, and biotechnology fields.
• The collaboration will focus on ventures with significant market potential aligned with Merck's three global divisions: Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics, with priority given to bioconvergence ventures.
• Through this partnership, eligible startups will receive support including investments, regulatory guidance, business development assistance, and potentially early-phase trial planning.
Oramed Pharmaceuticals Invests $36.9 Million in Alpha Tau Medical to Advance Cancer Radiation Therapy
• Oramed Pharmaceuticals has invested $36.9 million in Alpha Tau Medical, acquiring approximately 14.1 million shares and establishing a three-year strategic collaboration to accelerate Alpha DaRT cancer therapy development.
• The partnership unites two therapeutic delivery innovators—Oramed's oral drug delivery platform with Alpha Tau's precision alpha-radiation technology—with Oramed providing capital markets expertise and appointing two directors to Alpha Tau's board.
• Alpha Tau is currently expanding clinical trials across four U.S. indications, developing applications for internal organs, and scaling manufacturing capacity for its breakthrough solid tumor treatment technology.
CRISPR Breakthrough: Israeli Team Eliminates 50% of Head and Neck Tumors by Targeting Single Gene
• Tel Aviv University researchers have successfully used CRISPR gene-editing technology to eliminate 50% of head and neck tumors in model animals by targeting the SOX2 gene, challenging previous assumptions about CRISPR's limitations in cancer therapy.
• The groundbreaking study, led by Dr. Razan Masarwy and Prof. Dan Peer, utilized a novel nano-lipid delivery system with antibodies targeting the EGF receptor to precisely deliver CRISPR directly to tumor cells.
• This approach could potentially revolutionize cancer treatment by offering a more targeted alternative to conventional therapies, with researchers now expanding their work to other cancer types including myeloma, lymphoma, and liver cancer.
Purple Biotech Launches Phase 2 Trial of NT219 for Drug-Resistant Head and Neck Cancer
• Purple Biotech initiates Phase 2 trial of NT219, a novel dual-pathway inhibitor, in combination with pembrolizumab or cetuximab for treating recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer.
• The study, led by Dr. Antonio Jimeno at University of Colorado, will evaluate NT219's potential to overcome tumor resistance in a $5 billion market where current treatments show only 15-20% response rates.
• NT219's unique mechanism targeting IRS1/2 and STAT3 pathways showed promising results in preclinical studies, demonstrating ability to reverse immunotherapy resistance in tumors.
BioNTech Advances Oncology Pipeline with BNT327/PM8002 and mRNA Immunotherapies
• BioNTech is progressing BNT327/PM8002, a bispecific antibody, into global clinical trials for first-line small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
• The company plans to initiate additional trials combining BNT327/PM8002 with antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in 2025, expanding its combination strategy.
• BioNTech's mRNA cancer immunotherapy, autogene cevumeran, is being evaluated in a Phase 2 trial for muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma in combination with nivolumab.
• Clinical data readouts are expected in 2025 and 2026 from multiple randomized trials of personalized and off-the-shelf mRNA cancer immunotherapy candidates.
Alpha Tau's Alpha DaRT Therapy Receives FDA Nod for Expanded Pancreatic Cancer Trial
• The FDA has approved an IDE supplement for Alpha Tau, expanding the Alpha DaRT trial to include locally advanced pancreatic cancer patients.
• The trial will now enroll a total of 30 patients across two cohorts, each with 15 participants, at up to 10 clinical sites in the U.S.
• This expansion follows promising data on disease control and overall survival in pancreatic cancer patients treated with Alpha DaRT.
• Alpha Tau's CEO welcomes the IDE supplement, emphasizing the company's commitment to exploring new treatments for this deadly disease.
NeuroSense Therapeutics Advances PrimeC for ALS with Global Pharma Partnership and FDA Guidance
• NeuroSense Therapeutics has entered a binding term sheet with a leading global pharmaceutical company for PrimeC development, securing upfront payment and Phase 3 trial funding.
• The FDA provided positive feedback on the design of NeuroSense's Phase 3 study for PrimeC, an oral treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
• PrimeC, a combination of ciprofloxacin and celecoxib, demonstrated positive safety and efficacy in Phase 2b, slowing ALS progression beyond standard treatment.
• NeuroSense plans to submit the final protocol to the FDA in H1 2025 and commence the Phase 3 study in mid-2025, aiming for early commercialization in Canada.
FDA-Funded Study to Use Digital Sensors for Tracking Early Huntington's Disease Symptoms
• A new FDA-funded study will use digital sensors to track early-stage symptoms of Huntington's Disease, focusing on gait and chorea.
• The study aims to develop sensitive outcome markers for clinical trials, addressing the current difficulty in tracking efficacy of interventions.
• Researchers will collect data from wearable sensors on participants with early-stage Huntington's and a control group, using a novel symptom mapping approach.
• The research has potential applications beyond Huntington's, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, by establishing standards for digital technology in clinical trials.
NMDA Receptor Research Reveals Novel Mechanism for Brain Stabilization and Potential Depression Treatments
• Researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered that NMDA receptors (NMDARs) play a crucial role in maintaining brain stability, or homeostasis, beyond their known function in learning and memory.
• The study suggests that ketamine's rapid antidepressant effects may stem from its ability to reset the brain's baseline activity by blocking NMDARs, offering insights into treating brain instability-related conditions.
• Experiments on neurons, mice, and computational models demonstrated that NMDARs control baseline activity in brain networks, influencing signal transmission and reducing background noise.
• These findings pave the way for developing targeted therapies for depression, Alzheimer’s, and epilepsy by focusing on stabilizing brain activity through NMDAR modulation.
NurExone's ExoPTEN Receives Orphan Medicinal Product Designation from EMA
• NurExone's ExoPTEN therapy has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product Designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
• The EMA designation provides incentives such as market exclusivity, grants, and reduced-cost scientific advice for NurExone.
• ExoPTEN also received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA in 2023, offering similar benefits in the United States.
• ExoPTEN targets acute spinal cord injuries, addressing a significant unmet need with a potential market of 50,000 new cases globally each year.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Shows Promise for Combat-Related PTSD in Veterans
• A randomized, sham-controlled trial reveals that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) significantly reduces PTSD symptoms in veterans with combat-associated PTSD.
• The study demonstrated a 68% treatment response rate in the HBOT group compared to 4% in the sham group, based on a 30% reduction in CAPS-5 scores.
• Resting-state fMRI analysis showed improved brain connectivity within key networks, including the default mode, salience, and frontoparietal networks, in the HBOT group.
• HBOT was well-tolerated, suggesting it could be a valuable therapeutic option for veterans with PTSD who have not responded to traditional treatments.
FDA Funds Development of Digital Measures for Huntington's Disease
• The FDA has awarded funding to the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) to develop digital measures for Huntington's disease.
• The study will focus on identifying subtle, early signs of Huntington's disease using wearable sensors to track gait and chorea.
• Researchers aim to establish reliable and valid digital endpoints for clinical trials, accelerating the development of new therapies.
• The project includes collaborators from Columbia University, Tel Aviv University, and the University of Massachusetts.
Talquetamab and Teclistamab Combination Shows Promising Results in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
• Updated results from the Phase 1b RedirecTT-1 study show the combination of talquetamab and teclistamab yields high response rates in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients.
• The bispecific antibody combination demonstrates durable responses and a manageable safety profile, consistent with each agent's monotherapy profile.
• Patients with extramedullary disease, often resistant to standard therapies, also showed meaningful overall response rates and duration of response with the combination.
• The findings support further investigation of talquetamab-based combinations in multiple myeloma treatment, especially for those with limited options.
FDA Approves Alpha Tau's IDE for Alpha DaRT Study in Immunocompromised cSCC Patients
• Alpha Tau Medical's Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) has been approved by the FDA for a multi-center study of Alpha DaRT in immunocompromised patients with recurrent cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (cSCC).
• The study, led by Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute, will enroll up to 28 patients across 8 U.S. institutions, focusing on those with weakened immune systems, excluding diabetes.
• The primary objective is to determine the objective response rate (ORR), while secondary objectives include progression-free survival, overall survival, local control, and safety assessment.
• This trial aims to provide a potential new treatment option for a vulnerable population with limited options, addressing the increased risk of cSCC in immunocompromised individuals.
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