Two Labs

Traditional management tools have proven to be ineffective at managing costs for oncology drugs, leading to a hands-off management approach in the United States. But a recent survey from Two Labs – including 25 Pharmacy Directors and Medical Directors at US insurance companies representing 112.5 million covered lives – shows that the situation might be changing. The survey aimed to gather insight about what the industry looks like with increased levels of care management by covering traditional management tools, oncology-specific tools, systemic management tools and shifting risk, value frameworks, and pathways of care.

In a flurry of activity, multiple biopharma companies made their first appearance on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on June 25, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to advance the development of next-generation therapeutics and scale their businesses.

Genetic sequences from more than 200 virus samples of early Covid-19 cases mysteriously disappeared from an online scientific database. A researcher in Seattle reported the recovery of 13 of those original sequences.

Fulcrum Therapeutics achieved what the company is calling a clinical first. Data from a Phase IIb study showed that using losmapimod to treat facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) slowed the progression of the disease and demonstrated improved function in patients. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted breakthrough therapy designation to Japanese company Eisai and partner Biogen’s experimental therapy lecanemab for patients with early Alzheimer’s.

In a roundup of scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines, a prostate cancer drug improved Covid-19 survival in a clinical trial and mildly ill young Covid-19 patients reported lasting symptoms in another study.

The successful use of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for Covid-19 has led to a flurry of research studies designed to test these candidates in other illnesses. Translate Bio, for instance, launched a Phase I clinical trial with Sanofi’s vaccines global business unit Sanofi Pasteur to evaluate an mRNA-based investigational vaccine for the flu.

The University of Oxford is testing the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as a possible treatment for Covid-19, as part of a British government-backed study that aims to aid recoveries in non-hospital settings.

Roche

Roche presented results from several Phase II and III trials at the 7th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Annual Meeting held virtually June 19-22.

Florida-based Cantex Pharmaceuticals forged a licensing deal with vTv Therapeutics for a drug that had initially been developed as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Cantex intends to repurpose the drug for multiple indications in cancer.