Joseph Haas

AstraZeneca and Amgen's first-in-class anti-TSLP agent Tezspire, already approved for severe asthma, has shown an ability to reduce the size of nasal polyps and improve congestion.

With another miss for emraclidine, AbbVie will hope to extract some value from the Cerevel acquisition from the Parkinson’s drug tavapadon, while BMS may get a big lead in the schizophrenia space.

Deal Snapshot: Flagship-backed Vesalius will use its AI/machine learning platform to seek novel intervention points and underlying causes to better address Parkinson's disease in GSK alliance.

Plus deals involving Nippon Shinyaku/Atsena, Daiichi Sankyo/Alteogen, Santen/Arctic Vision, Henlius/SVAX, Nxera/Antiverse, Y-mAbs/Nobelpharma, Formosa/DAVI, Mochida/United Therapeutics, GSK/Chimagen and GC/Novelty Nobility.

Following ex-US approvals, PTC obtains a US OK for Kebilidi, branded Upstaza outside the US, as a gene therapy for ultra-rare AADC deficiency. The drug is administered via neurological surgery.

With its data monitoring committee saying a Phase III trial of a drug-device combo product in pediatric myopia was not on track for success, Eyenovia will end the study and consider its options.

Scrip's Joseph Haas discusses biopharma M&A topics such as why deal activity declined during Q2 and Q3 with Gerardo Ubaghs of Frontier Medicines and Jason Silvers of Generate Biomedicines

Following Phase III safety and cash problems, Inventiva has its eye on lanifibranor becoming the second oral agent approved in NASH. Former Intercept CEO Mark Pruzanski is advising the effort.

The firm revealed that an analysis of its Phase III ESSENCE trial combining fibrosis reduction and NASH resolution showed a higher effect over placebo than in Madrigal’s pivotal trial.

Boston Pharma may be rising in the FGF21 space, while Viking could be formidable competition for Madrigal in the THRβ agonist class. Akero will soon report potentially groundbreaking data in cirrhotic NASH.