Oriana Papin-ZoghbiCEO and co-founder, AOA Dx Women have been severely underserved when it comes to their health,” says Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, CEO and co-founder of AOA Dx, which is based in Boulder, CO. Bold as that statement sounds, many experts and organizations around the world point out…

Depending on which research report is referenced, there are anywhere from a couple hundred to more than 600 bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) in preclinical and clinical development by pharma and biotech companies around the world. Nine of the 12 bsAbs that have received approval globally target cancer. But after the first…

CD5+ cells could be an important marker for response to immunotherapy, according to new research from the Washington University School of Medicine. In lab studies, this team found that patients whose tumor samples had more CD5+ dendritic cells lived longer. Also, mice without CD5 on their dendritic cells did not…

In a deal worth approximately $250 million, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will acquire Checkmate Pharmaceuticals in a deal that expands the buyer’s immuno-oncology pipeline. Checkmate’s lead candidate is included in the deal. Vidutolimod (CMP-001), is being developed as a monotherapy and in numerous combinations—including in tandem with Regeneron’s marketed multi-indication cancer drug…

Lucid Diagnostics, a division of Medical device company PAVmed, said Tuesday its EsoGuard Esophageal DNA Test that defines patients with an elevated risk of developing esophageal cancer due to chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) had received a Breakthrough Device designation from the FDA. “This designation validates our belief that EsoGuard…

Promega said today it will develop its microsatellite instability (MSI) technology as an on-label, solid tumor companion diagnostic (CDx) to Merck’s blockbuster cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab), through a global collaboration whose value was not disclosed. Promega’s MSI testing is designed to functionally measure the genomic accumulation of insertion or deletion…

Novacyt said today it is selling its NOVAprep® next-generation, liquid based cytology solution for diagnosing cervical cancer and non-gynecological cancers, as well as its clinical laboratory—in moves the company said will enable it to focus on its core profitable diagnostic products business. The company said it has appointed advisors and…

Until recently, the model of what constitutes a companion diagnostic (CDx) for a drug was straightforward: It identified a biomarker that indicated an approved drug was indicated for a specific patient’s treatment. One test; one drug. It seems almost too elegant in its simplicity. And often, it is. For patients…

Molecular diagnostics and technology company Genomic Vision has announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca that will leverage Genomic Vision's FiberVision DNA molecular combing technology to study WEE1 kinase inhibition in cancer. The companies will study the effects of AZ's WEE1 inhibitor on DNA replication progression in cancer cells, and also seek…

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy researchers have generated a first-of-its-kind comprehensive catalog of diseases associated with variations in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes that regulate the body's immune system. The report, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, confirmed a broad selection…

Cancer immunotherapy has ignited a firestorm of new drug compounds that target novel tumor markers that activate patients’ immune system to destroy various cancer cell types. These therapies have provided remarkable success; however, they are expensive to produce and administer, with a percentage of patients showing little to no therapeutic…

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has come a long way during the past three decades to become one of the fundamental platforms in life sciences sector. Normally, this is a sufficiently long period for a technology to mature and the market to move to decline phase. However, the PCR industry…

Adding the antibody therapy pembrolizumab to standard care for people with soft tissue sarcoma can significantly improve survival in these patients according to new research. The study was led by the University Health Network in Toronto and published in The Lancet. It showed that disease-free survival was improved by 39%…

Enhertu (AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s trastuzumab deruxtecan) has become the first tumor-agnostic, FDA-approved, HER2-directed therapy. It is approved for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive (IHC 3+) solid tumors. Enhertu is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) that consists of a HER2 monoclonal antibody attached to a number of topoisomerase…

One of the most competitive fields in pharma today involves antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), a market estimated to be worth almost $20B already. This week the FDA accepted the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for ADC Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki) and granted it Priority Review. Enhertu is a HER2-directed ADC being…