GlaxoSmithKline, GSK

British drugmaker GSK said on Monday its oral drug to treat gonorrhea met the main goal of non-inferiority, compared to an existing combination treatment, in a late-stage trial.

Indian pharma companies have started developing their own versions of Novo Nordisk’s top-selling weight-loss medicine Wegovy (semaglutide), hoping for a piece of the multibillion-dollar obesity market.

Frontier Medicines on Thursday closed its oversubscribed $80 million Series C funding round,  which it will use to advance its potentially first-in-class next-generation KRAS blocker FMC-376.

San Francisco-based Rigel Pharmaceuticals on Thursday announced it will acquire the U.S. rights to Blueprint Medicines’ FDA-approved non-small cell lung cancer drug Gavreto (pralsetinib).

On the heels of Takeda’s $300 million licensing deal for rusfertide, Protagonist Therapeutics’ peptide mimetic lowered hematocrit levels in patients with polycythemia vera, a type of blood cancer.

After treatment with a CD19 CAR-T therapy, patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, idiopathic inflammatory myositis or systemic sclerosis achieved long-lasting remission, according to results published in the NEJM.

According to Bavarian Nordic, its cancer vaccine TAEK-VAC has reached a stage where more investments are required. The company would also have faced stiff competition in the cancer vaccine space.

AstraZeneca

Despite this setback, AstraZeneca is looking to differentiate in the DKD space with its pipeline drug, zibotentan. If approved, having another treatment option could be of high value to physicians looking to find an optimal treatment of choice for individuals with DKD.

The progression-free survival metric has helped shepherd many products across the regulatory finish line. Experts say the FDA’s new emphasis on overall survival will be felt especially by small biotechs.

Gilead Sciences

While the company did not provide specific reasons for the halt, Gilead Sciences said it is “reviewing the benefit-risk” of its anti-CD47 antibody magrolimab across all ongoing trials.