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Adaptimmune has seen partial responses in three of the first four myxoid/round cell liposarcoma (MRCLS) patients treated with its T cells. The early data raised hopes the GlaxoSmithKline-partnered drug will be effective in multiple types of solid tumor, sending Adaptimmune shares up nearly 20%.

Abingdon, U.K.-based Adaptimmune first posted clinical data linking NY-ESO SPEAR T cells to responses in synovial sarcoma patients in 2015. Those results gave Adaptimmune preliminary validation that it can engineer T cells to take out solid tumors but left the biotech needing more evidence to show its platform is effective against a range of cancers.

The MRCLS data mark a small step toward that goal. MRCLS, like synovial sarcoma, is a soft-tissue sarcoma but the underlying genetics and clinical manifestations of the two diseases are different.

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Cambridge, UK and Indianapolis: 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, announces that data and analysis from its Phase 3 prophylaxis trial with intravenous amisulpride (BAREMSIS®) in combination with standard antiemetics have been published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) (Kranke et al.). Positive headline results were first announced by the Company in January 2016.

The Phase 3 trial demonstrated that BAREMSIS is safe and resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the emergence of post-operative nausea & vomiting (PONV) when given in combination with an antiemetic drug from another class to adult patients undergoing elective procedures who are at high risk of PONV.

“Tens of millions of Americans undergo surgery each year and many suffer with nausea and vomiting after their operation,” said Peter Kranke, M.D., Professor of Anaesthesiology at the University of Würzburg in Germany and the trial’s lead investigator. “PONV contributes to patient distress, can delay recovery after surgery and increases hospital costs. Patients with multiple risk factors for PONV require a multimodal approach for its prevention, including using a combination of anti-nausea drugs with different mechanisms of action, since it cannot be predicted which pathway(s) will be active in a patient.”

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London, UK  — Orchard Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with rare disorders through innovative gene therapies, today announced that one of its scientific founders and scientific advisory board member, professor Donald Kohn, has been recognized with the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium (PBMTC) Lifetime Achievement Award on Feb. 22, 2018 in Salt Lake City.

The PBMTC Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes outstanding individuals who have made major contributions to the field of pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The award highlights and honors the contributions and careers of individuals whose work exemplifies the PBMTC mission statement: “To support research and education to improve the availability, safety, and efficacy of hematopoietic cell transplantation and other cellular therapeutics for children and adolescents.”

Professor Kohn has focused his career on the development of hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for immunodeficiencies, hemoglobinopathies and inborn errors of metabolism. His work includes the development of tools for efficient gene addition or correction, and persistent transgene expression, for the amelioration of genetic disease.

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese drug developer Hua Medicine is planning to raise at least $400 million in an initial public offering in Hong Kong in the latest in a series of biotech floats in the city, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Hong Kong is formulating new rules for early-stage drug developers in an effort to woo companies in the fast-growing sector – notably those in China – into choosing the city over New York, the traditional hub for initial public offerings from the industry.

Berlin, Germany — ProBioGen AG, a premier German service & technology provider for complex therapeutic glycoproteins announced signing the second antibody development project with Cambridge, MA-based Surface Oncology Inc., an immuno-oncology company developing next-generation antibody therapies that target the tumor microenvironment.

Under the terms of the agreement Surface Oncology will contract with ProBioGen to develop and manufacture another antibody for potential use in clinical trials. ProBioGen will develop several stable cell lines in parallel, gradually reduce the candidate number and conclude with process development and GMP manufacturing for a single antibody product candidate. The advantage of this approach is the meticulous analysis of several candidates at the same time while strongly reducing time lines.

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SHANGHAI  — WuXi Biologics (2269.HK), a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company offering end-to-end solutions for biologics discovery, development and manufacturing, and Adagene Inc., an emerging biotech company discovering and developing innovative antibody therapeutics for the global market, today announced a strategic collaboration agreement.

Adagene is building a global biotech company with an internal pipeline of antibody therapeutics focused on difficult antigens, and therapeutic candidates with enhanced biophysical properties. The collaboration with WuXi Biologics will support supply of Adagene’s products for clinical trials under Investigational New Drug (IND) applications in both China and United States.

“The strategic collaboration with WuXi Biologics will enable Adagene to focus on our core competency in the discovery of novel antibody therapeutics and by leveraging the process development and manufacturing capabilities of WuXi Biologics will accelerate Adagene’s next wave of innovative products into the clinic,” said Dr. Peter Luo, Co-Founder and CEO of Adagene.

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GlaxoSmithKline has seen precious few takers for its $730,000 gene therapy for a rare and life-threatening immune illness known as “bubble-boy disease.” Now a tiny startup thinks it can succeed where the British giant is struggling.

In almost two years since Glaxo’s Strimvelis came to the market, just five patients have received the treatment, offered only through a single center in Milan. Orchard Therapeutics, a closely held company in London with about 80 employees and no products on the market, is preparing to sell a competing version that may reach more sick children.

Orchard, whose team includes three former Glaxo executives, wants to one-up the larger company by taking aim at a Strimvelis shortcoming. While Glaxo’s therapy can’t be transported, Orchard is planning to use frozen cells that can travel to markets all over the world.

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