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Category: Therapeutics

GSK signs strategic agreement to transfer rare disease gene therapy portfolio to Orchard Therapeutics

  • Agreement strengthens Orchard’s position as a global leader in gene therapy for rare diseases
  • GSK takes 19.9% equity stake in Orchard and seat on board 

LONDON, April 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GSK and Orchard Therapeutics today announced a strategic agreement, under which GSK will transfer its portfolio of approved and investigational rare disease gene therapies to Orchard, securing the continued development of the programmes and access for patients. This acquisition strengthens Orchard’s position as a global leader in gene therapy for rare diseases. GSK will continue to invest in the development of its platform capabilities in cell and gene therapies, with a focus on oncology.

Under the agreement, GSK will become an investor in Orchard Therapeutics, receiving a 19.9% equity stake along with a seat on the company’s board. GSK will also receive financial considerations in the form of royalties and commercial milestone payments related to the acquired portfolio. GSK and Orchard will exchange manufacturing, technical and commercial insights and learnings on the development of gene therapy medicines to ensure the success of the assets.

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Acacia Pharma Expands US Commercial Operations for BAREMSIS® with Four Key Appointments

Cambridge, UK and Indianapolis, US – Acacia Pharma Group plc (“Acacia Pharma”, the “Company” or the “Group”), (EURONEXT: ACPH), a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of new nausea & vomiting treatments for surgical and cancer patients, has made substantial progress in expanding its US commercial operations for the intended launch of intravenous amisulpride (BAREMSIS®) with four key appointments. The new hires bring significant and relevant commercial experience in launching and marketing hospital pharmaceutical products in the US and have been recruited, as planned, ahead of the target PDUFA date for BAREMSIS of 5 October 2018.

Mike Bolinder, Chief Commercial Officer of the Group’s US subsidiary, Acacia Pharma, Inc., commented: “Filling these key roles with these experienced leaders with such relevant experience provides the Group with a strong foundation for the intended US commercialisation of BAREMSIS. We are delighted to welcome them all to the team and look forward to getting our launch preparations underway. It is a great achievement for Acacia Pharma to attract such high calibre professionals, and to deliver the first key element of our commercialisation strategy so soon after completing our recent Initial Global Offering.”

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Acacia Pharma Expands US Commercial Operations for BAREMSIS® with Four Key Appointments

Cambridge, UK and Indianapolis, US : Acacia Pharma Group plc (“Acacia Pharma”, the “Company” or the “Group”), (EURONEXT: ACPH), a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of new nausea & vomiting treatments for surgical and cancer patients, has made substantial progress in expanding its US commercial operations for the intended launch of intravenous amisulpride (BAREMSIS®) with four key appointments. The new hires bring significant and relevant commercial experience in launching and marketing hospital pharmaceutical products in the US and have been recruited, as planned, ahead of the target PDUFA date for BAREMSIS of 5 October 2018.

Mike Bolinder, Chief Commercial Officer of the Group’s US subsidiary, Acacia Pharma, Inc., commented: “Filling these key roles with these experienced leaders with such relevant experience provides the Group with a strong foundation for the intended US commercialisation of BAREMSIS. We are delighted to welcome them all to the team and look forward to getting our launch preparations underway. It is a great achievement for Acacia Pharma to attract such high calibre professionals, and to deliver the first key element of our commercialisation strategy so soon after completing our recent Initial Global Offering.”

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PatientPing Expands Care Coordination Platform into Hospitals and Emergency Departments Nationwide to Identify High Utilizers and Reduce Readmissions

BOSTON — PatientPing, a health technology company that connects providers to seamlessly coordinate patient care, today announced the nationwide expansion of their “Stories” offering to help emergency department (ED) providers and case managers improve care within the emergency and inpatient setting. Stories, or real-time patient clinical and administrative context at the point of care, contain a patient’s in- and out-of-network visit and utilization history, diagnosis data, prescription histories, care team contact information, care guidelines as well as program affiliation.

“Data-sharing is more important than ever to improve patient care and outcomes, and we look forward to working with our long-time partner PatientPing to implement Stories in Connecticut,” said Anthony Dias, Vice President, Data Services, Connecticut Hospital Association. “ChimeData, part of the Connecticut Hospital Association, is pleased to work with PatientPing to leverage real-time data flow from hospitals to improve healthcare delivery. We’re pleased that PatientPing’s capabilities are complementing the hard work of Connecticut hospitals and other providers to support high quality, coordinated care for complex patients.”

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Cancer biotech Surface Oncology sets terms for $84 million IPO

Surface Oncology, a clinical-stage biotech developing next-generation antibody cancer therapies, announced terms for its IPO on Monday.

The Cambridge, MA-based company plans to raise $84 million by offering 6 million shares at a price range of $13 to $15. Insiders intend to purchase $25 million (30% of deal size) worth of shares in the offering. In addition, Novartis intends to invest $11.5 million in a concurrent private placement. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Surface Oncology would command a fully diluted market value of $404 million.

Surface Oncology was founded in 2014 and booked $13 million in sales for the 12 months ended December 31, 2017. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol SURF. Goldman Sachs, Cowen & Company and Evercore ISI are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price during the week of April 16, 2018.
The article Cancer biotech Surface Oncology sets terms for $84 million IPO originally appeared on IPO investment manager Renaissance Capital’s web site renaissancecapital.com.

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Adaptimmune to Present Two Posters at the Upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. and OXFORD, U.K. — Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq:ADAP), a leader in T-cell therapy to treat cancer, will present two posters summarizing preclinical research with its MAGE-A4 and MAGE-A10 SPEAR T-cells at the upcoming AACR meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.

Session, date, time, and location (for both posters):
•Session Category (Title): Clinical Research (Adoptive Cell Therapy 2)
•Date: Monday Apr 16, 2018
•Time: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM (CDT)
•Location: McCormick Place South, Exhibit Hall A, Poster Section 24

Poster 1 – MAGE-A4
•Title: Affinity-enhanced T-cell receptor (TCR) for adoptive T-cell therapy targeting MAGE-A4
•Poster Board Number: 21
•Permanent Abstract Number: 2562

Poster 2 – MAGE-A10
•Title: Selection of affinity-enhanced T-cell receptors for adoptive T-cell therapy targeting MAGE‑A10
•Poster Board Number: 23
•Permanent Abstract Number: 2564

Adaptimmune will also have a booth (#3700) in the Exhibit Hall.

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Unum Therapeutics Announces Closing of IPO and Concurrent Private Placement with Seattle Genetics

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Unum Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel immunotherapy products designed to harness the power of a patient’s immune system to cure cancer, today announced the closing of its initial public offering of 5,770,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $12.00 per share. The gross proceeds from this offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are approximately $69.2 million. Unum Therapeutics’ common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “UMRX” on March 29, 2018.

Morgan Stanley and Cowen are acting as joint book-running managers for the initial public offering. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Wedbush PacGrow are acting as lead managers

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Unum Therapeutics Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Unum Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:UMRX) (“Unum Therapeutics”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel immunotherapy products designed to harness the power of a patient’s immune system to cure cancer, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 5,770,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $12 per share. In addition, Unum Therapeutics has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 865,500 additional shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. Unum Therapeutics’ common stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “UMRX” on March 29, 2018. The offering is expected to close on April 3, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

Morgan Stanley and Cowen are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Wedbush PacGrow are acting as lead managers.

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TraceLink Publishes Full Analysis from the Global Drug Supply, Safety and Traceability Report, Industry’s Largest Survey on Life Science Companies’ Readiness for Serialization Deadlines

NORTH READING, Mass. — TraceLink Inc., the World’s Largest Track and Trace Network for connecting the life sciences supply chain and providing real-time information sharing for better patient outcomes, today unveiled the second annual Global Drug Supply, Safety and Traceability report, including results from 660 respondents across the pharmaceutical supply chain – the largest survey ever conducted on pharmaceutical track and trace.

The report highlights a massive gap in industry readiness for drug serialization, with only one-third of respondents stating that they are “very prepared” to comply with serialization deadlines in the U.S. and EU. The in-depth analysis also reports that not one survey respondent has completed all of the fundamental steps for serialization compliance.

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Checkmate Pharmaceuticals to Present Data at the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Checkmate Pharmaceuticals (Checkmate), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel approaches for cancer immunotherapy, today announced that it will present data at the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting taking place in Chicago from April 14 – April 18. Data on Checkmate’s Phase 1b trial in subjects with advanced melanoma will be presented in an oral presentation in the Clinical Trials Plenary Session CTPL04 – Novel Immuno-oncology Strategies.

Oral Presentation Details:

Title: Intratumoral Toll-Like Receptor 9 (TLR9) Agonist, CMP-001, In Combination With Pembrolizumab Can Reverse Resistance To PD-1 Inhibition In A Phase 1b Trial In Subjects With Advanced Melanoma
Abstract No: 10610
Presentation Number: CT144
Date/Time: April 17, 2018; 10:30 AM
Location: North Hall C, McCormick Place North (Level 1)

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