The UK's Silence Therapeutics is moving its candidate products into early clinical studies in cardiovascular diseases and improving its visibility with a NASDAQ listing.

Join us for a quick audio roundup of five useful things to know from Scrip's recent coverage of developments in the global biopharmaceutical industry.

The RNA-drug developer, which is buying the approximately 24% of Akcea it doesn't already own for around $500m, highlighted the maturing pipeline in a cardiovascular overview.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly’s SGLT2 inhibitor Jardiance (empagliflozin) reduces cardiovascular deaths and hospitalizations in certain heart failure patients regardless of whether they have diabetes, and regulatory submissions are expected for the additional indication later this year.

MyoKardia is building up its organization to prepare for commercialization of mavacamten, a potential first-in-class agent for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Novartis has pooled cholesterol control and safety data, but will have to wait longer for cardiovascular outcomes readout.

Hopes that the Phase II TAURIEL trial could potentially validate the anti-tau antibody approach to treating Alzheimer's have been dashed as semorinemab did not meet its endpoints.

Indivior aims to cut costs by restructuring its US commercial operations and reducing discretionary spending, in order to improve flexibility in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and to invest in R&D.

The rollercoaster ride continues for Novartis’s gene therapy Zolgensma, with the company committing to providing further clinical data on an intrathecal formulation for older spinal muscular atrophy patients.

However, Vaccinex sees possible efficacy for SEMA4D inhibition in later-stage Huntington’s as well as Alzheimer’s disease. Pepinemab is also being studied with Keytruda in head-and-neck cancer.

Marinus Pharmaceuticals has transformed its finances and the prospects for its R&D pipeline over the past 12 months, and has just reported positive top-line results from the Phase III MARIGOLD study of its lead compound, ganaxolone.

Deal Snapshot: The firms are partnering on a digital therapeutic for schizophrenia in a deal potentially worth $500m. 

Tildrakizumab debuts in Japan, marking a key milestone for Sun Pharma, though heavyweight competitors including same class rival Skyrizi are already available on the market there.

The coronavirus pandemic hurt the German group's healthcare division but helped the contract development and manufacturing activities of Merck's life sciences business.

It has been a tough couple of months for the Belgian biotech since the FDA surprisingly rebuffed its JAK inhibitor filgotinib but promising data on the oral autotaxin inhibitor ziritaxestat helped soften the blow and drive up Galapagos stock.

The German major is looking for a partner to advance its IL-17A/IL-17F nanobody sonelokinab for psoriasis but the search could be tricky given the strength of Novartis's Cosentyx and Eli Lilly's Taltz, while UCB's IL-17A and IL-17F inhibitor bimekizumab is likely to be approved soon.

The company explained that background immunosuppressant therapy performed better than anticipated based on scientific literature and physicians’ expectations. 

Apparently positive news for two unglamorous indications – acne and allergy – should be balanced against restrictive reimbursement and market fragmentation.

Novavax aims to recruit 10,000 subjects in the UK, and will include a flu vaccination co-administration for some participants.

Confidence in the vaccine has slipped in the US, regardless of political affiliation.

Redirection of healthcare resources to tackle COVID-19 is posing huge challenges for TB care and researchers in the area. Companies like J&J have stepped in to support, among other aspects, innovative community-based solutions to ensure continuity of care for drug resistant-TB patients amid the pandemic.

Moderna led by releasing the trial protocol for its COVID-19 vaccine study, followed by Pfizer, as industry faces demands for transparency.

Plus: Valneva confirms supply deal with the UK government for its inactivated vaccine candidate; Humanigen expands manufacturing ahead of Phase III data.

Olumiant (baricitinib) plus Gilead’s Veklury (remdesivir) provided a statistically significant reduction in time to recovery versus remdesivir alone for hospitalized patients in US NIAID’s ACTT-2 clinical trial. 

Join us for a quick audio roundup of five useful things to know from Scrip's recent coverage of developments in the global biopharmaceutical industry.

NASH has become a major therapeutic focus for pharma firms in South Korea, where companies are speeding up development and expanding their pipelines after Yuhan’s sizable global license deals last year.

Mylan is the first to launch insulin glargine competition in both a vial and pre-filled pen, joining Eli Lilly's Basaglar pen.

A 39% relative risk reduction in the primary endpoint for the DAPA-CKD study and a 31% reduction in all-cause mortality prime Farxiga for a new chronic kidney disease indication following filings due in the next few months.

Evotec’s multimodality approach to drug discovery landed the biotech two new discovery collaborations this week, underscoring its emphasis on patient-driven data.

Novo Nordisk and Evotec will identify and develop novel drugs for treating chronic kidney disease, using datasets of CKD patients provided by the Danish group and from other sources.

Cancer deals involve City of Hope/Chimeric, CARISMA/NYU, Sorrento/Mayo Clinic, Rain/Drexel, Diaprost/Memorial Sloan Kettering, Alkido/University of Kentucky. Plus, research collaborations in brief.

The Boston-based biotech has secured a substantial new investment for its protein degradation platform which has the potential to treat currently undruggable cancers in a new way.

TIGIT is not the only novel IO mechanism showing promise, with market leaders Merck and BMS showcasing data from other early stage combinations with Opdivo and Keytruda, while Servier presented a possible three-way combo.

The Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) annual meeting, against the background of the global pandemic, has one clear message that local researchers and players are pressing ahead to take a leadership role in cutting-edge cancer research globally.

Sanofi/Regeneron’s anti-PD-1 product Libtayo may be late to the NSCLC party but strong data from EMPOWER-Lung 1 suggest it could gain traction in the space, especially in patients with high PD-L1 expression levels.

Janssen presents highly encouraging interim results at ESMO from the CHRYSALIS study with a combination of amivantamab and lazertinib. Based on the data, the global Phase III MARIPOSA study, which will assess the combo versus blockbuster Tagrisso, will begin next month including in South Korea, home to lazertinib's originator. 

It has been a tough couple of months for the Belgian biotech since the FDA surprisingly rebuffed its JAK inhibitor filgotinib but promising data on the oral autotaxin inhibitor ziritaxestat helped soften the blow and drive up Galapagos stock.

Trelegy, already approved for COPD, will be targeted to the roughly one-third of asthmatics not controlled on maintenance therapy.

The SPOR-COV prophylactic approach targets the innate immune system and has the potential to develop COVID-19 protection within a few days of treatment, the partners tell Scrip.

Updated results from two Merck & Co Phase III studies, COUGH-1 and COUGH-2, confirm the drug’s efficacy in reducing the frequency of refractory cough and its association with taste disturbances.

While many analysts have been focusing on the growth potential of Regeneron-partnered Dupixent in atopic dermatitis, the French giant has been highlighting the biologic's benefits for asthma with three-year data presented at the ERS meeting.

Deal Snapshot: Santhera acquires all rights to vamorolone from Idorsia, making it ReveraGen’s direct partner on the novel Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy.