Pharma News Roundup: Amgen, Isis, Janssen, Pfizer, Novartis, And More

By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA

In recent news, stem cell research is taking the forefront as new collaborations speed up the development of CRISPR immunotherapies; Cempra is moving forward in its development of a next-generation antibiotic; and a new antisense drug could be a game-changer for autoimmune disorders of the GI tract.

Street Insider says that Amgen and Kite Pharma will be teaming up to develop a new form of Chimeric
Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapies to combat cancer. Both companies are eligible to make up to $525 million each in milestone payments. Amgen will be responsible for selecting the cancer targets, while Kite will provide its CAR platform and cell manufacturing/processing leading towards an IND filing.

Isis Pharmaceuticals has announced a new collaboration with Janssen Biotech to develop an antisense drug for autoimmune disorders of the GI tract, according to PR Newswire. The collaboration aims to develop an antisense drug that can be locally administered to the gut. Isis will make $35 million upfront, and Janssen will be able to license a drug from each of the development programs. This collaboration will allow Isis to expand its RNA-targeted therapeutics to GI tract diseases.

According to Reuter’s, Janssen Biotech will be collaborating with Vectura Group to develop dry powder inhaler treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Vectura will be responsible for launching the development of the new drug with intermediate Phase 2 clinical trials. Janssen plans to develop its own inhaled therapeutics for asthma and other airway diseases using Vectura’s dry powder inhaler technologies. According to Vectura, the market for dry powder inhaled therapeutics is worth upward of $46 billion worldwide.

Pfizer has acquired a controlling interest in Redvax GmbH and in turn, has been granted access to a preclinical human trial for the cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine, BioSpace says. Through this deal, Pfizer gains intellectual property as well as a technology platform for a different, currently undisclosed vaccine program.

According to Reuter’s, Cempra met its main goal in the late-stage trial of its new antibiotic, solithromycin. Similar to Pfizer’s azithromycin, this new drug will be used to fight pathogens that cause community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CAPB). The trial set out to determine whether solithromycin would be as effective as Bayer’s moxifloxacin at evoking a clinical response 72 hours after treatment is given. Solithromycin not only outperformed moxifloxacin, but also showed significantly lower levels of gastrointestinal toxicity.

Novartis and Intellia Therapeutics are collaborating to create new CRISPR treatments using stem cell CARTs technology, says PM Live. The collaboration plans to use an ex vivo approach, in which the cells are collected and modified, in order to develop CARTs and hematopoietic stem cell (HSCs) therapies. Then they will use an in vivo approach to correct the genes inside cells. This research will have a wide variety of applications in ophthalmic, central nervous system, muscle, liver, anti-infective, and other diseases such as cancer. Novartis will be providing an upfront payment, technology access fees and R&D program funding over the next five years.