FarmaKology Newsletter - Issue #66

Jan 28, 2021

Today's Startup

Nuvalent, Inc.

Nuvalent is creating precisely targeted therapies for patients with cancer designed to overcome the limitations of existing therapies for clinically proven kinase targets. Leveraging deep expertise in structure-based design, Nuvalent develops innovative small molecules with exquisite target selectivity to overcome resistance, minimize adverse events, and drive more durable responses. Nuvalent is advancing a robust pipeline with parallel lead programs in ROS1-positive and ALK-positive NSCLC, along with multiple discovery-stage research programs.

News

Lilly and Asahi Kasei Pharma Announce License Agreement for Chronic Pain Drug Candidate

Eli Lilly and Company and Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation today announced a license agreement whereby Lilly will acquire the exclusive rights for AK1780 from Asahi Kasei Pharma. AK1780 is an orally bioavailable P2X7 receptor antagonist that recently completed Phase 1 single and multiple ascending doses and clinical pharmacology studies. P2X7 receptors have been consistently implicated in neuroinflammation, a driving force in chronic pain conditions.

Clinical Trial of Proxalutamide’s Trial of Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients Was Approved in Brazil

Kintor Pharmaceutical Limited is pleased to announce that the clinical trial of Proxalutamide’s treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients was approved by the Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) of Brazil. The trial was accepted for accelerated review.

Lumen Bioscience Receives CARB-X Award to Develop Preventative for Deadly Diarrheal Diseases and Details Broad Potential of Spirulina Platform

Lumen Bioscience, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing biologic drug candidates for highly prevalent diseases, announced the initiation of an up to $14.5 million projects funded by CARB-X to develop an oral monoclonal antibody cocktail to prevent serious diarrheal diseases. Separately, the company simultaneously published pre-clinical and clinical research describing for the first time how its novel spirulina platform is used to rapidly develop, produce, and deliver edible antibody drugs.

Evotec Starts Clinical Development of Chikungunya Antibody together with NIAID and Leading Academic Research Organisation

Evotec SE today announced that EVT 894, a monoclonal antibody to treat and potentially prevent chikungunya virus infections, has entered clinical development.