Oncology has benefited from a wave of advances in recent decades. From 1991 to 2018, the age-adjusted overall cancer death rate dropped 31%, according to an analysis from American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). That death rate dropped 2.4% between 2017 and 2018, marking the most significant annual reduction. The reasons for such improvements are multifaceted,…
Kyverna Therapeutics wins $85 million in Series B financing
The cell therapy company Kyverna Therapeutics (Emeryville, California) has closed an oversubscribed $85 million Series B funding round led by Northpond Ventures. The company plans to use the funding to launch a Phase 2 trial for its lead asset, KYV-101, in the first half of 2022. KYV-101 is an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell…
How first-generation outcomes data can advance future cell therapies
The cell therapy industry is in the early stages of growth and development, with only a few having secured regulatory approval. This approval comes with regulatory requirements that ensure safety, including patient outcomes data collection for up to 15 years post-infusion. While daunting, the strings attached to these first-generation therapy approvals help understand safety and…
Janssen’s global head of R&D opens up on CAR-T research, data science and more
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen division (NYSE:JNJ) was among the first drug companies to prioritize oncology research. The company has more than three decades of experience in the domain. Recently, Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy has become one of the most exciting areas of research for cancer and other diseases for the company, said Mathai Mammen, global…
Allogene Therapeutics’ stock drops 46% after FDA puts hold on AlloCAR-T trials
Today, the allogeneic CAR-T company Allogene Therapeutics (NSDQ:ALLO) saw its stock dip to the lowest level since its IPO in 2018. The company announced that FDA had placed a hold on its AlloCAR T clinical trials after the identification of a chromosomal abnormality in a patient enrolled in its ALPHA2 study (NCT04416984). That trial was…
Appeals court invalidates $1.2 billion fine against Gilead Sciences
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit tossed a $1.2 billion fine against Gilead Sciences after invalidating portions of a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center patent licensed to a Bristol Myers Squibb subsidiary. The patent was the basis for the previous ruling against Foster City, Calif.–based Gilead, which related to patent infringement claims…