Cell Therapies

China’s BRL Gears Up For First UCAR-T Trial In Leukemia/Lymphoma

 
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Shanghai-based BRL Medicine is building a novel pipeline led by universal CAR-Ts. Its founder talks to Scrip about the benefits of this approach, China's potential advantages in the field and challenges faced by new ventures.

Competition Weighs On Gilead’s CAR-Ts As Both See Sales Decline

 

The quarter saw strong growth overall, but the company now expects sales of Yescarta and Tecartus to fall for the full year 2025 versus 2024 thanks to competition.

Sumitomo Parkinson’s Filing A Pivotal Moment For Japan’s iPSC Ambitions

 
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Sumitomo Pharma's iPSC therapy for Parkinson's has been filed for approval in Japan after showing safety and efficacy in a Phase I/II trial and may become one of the first such therapies to reach the market in the country, which has invested heavily in the modality.

Aurigene Oncology CEO On Biotech Valuations, CAR-Ts And Reimbursement Models

 

Aurigene Oncology CEO talks in this audio interview about the tough biotech funding environment, pipeline assets including a CAR-T therapy in Phase II, "hybrid" manufacturing, outcome-based reimbursement and the promise of bispecifics and multispecifics, including Akeso's PD-1/VEGF bispecific.


Allogene Sticks With Standard Lymphodepletion In CAR-T Trial After Patient Death

 

The company said it will no longer use ALLO-647 after a patient developed a fatal adenovirus infection, and it will pursue further development of its Dagger technology to minimize or eliminate the need for lymphodepletion.

Analysts Not Impressed With Adaptimmune’s Survival Attempts

 
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The company is getting just $55m from the sale of Tecelra and a couple of late-stage T-cell therapies to US WorldMeds.

Dispatch Uses ‘Flare’ To Send CAR-Ts To Solid Tumors

 

With $216m in initial funding, the newly launched company is aiming to develop a cell therapy-based universal immuno-oncology option for solid tumor indications.

Capricor Gets Complete Response For DMD Cell Therapy

 
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Seven weeks before its action date, Capricor got an FDA complete response for cell therapy deramiocel in DMD-related cardiomyopathy. It has a Phase III study nearing readout, though.


Concentra Picks Up Cargo In Latest Troubled Biotech Buyout

 

The Kevin Tang-led firm will pay $4.38 per share for Cargo, which laid off most of its workforce following the failure of a Phase II CAR-T trial.

Stock Watch: US CAR-T And Vaccine Actions: Net Negative For Access

 
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Relaxing CAR-T restrictions may not be an access panacea because of patient fragility and lack of payer incentive. Conversely, the ACIP’s recent recommendation on Thiomersal-containing flu vaccines is probably the thin edge of a more restrictive wedge.

AbbVie Makes Big Autoimmune CAR-T Play With Capstan Acquisition

 

The drugmaker will spend up to $2.1bn to acquire the privately held biotech firm and its targeted lipid nanoparticle technology platform, with an anti-CD19 asset in the clinic.

Removal Of REMS For CAR-Ts Could Greatly Expand Their Reach

 

The FDA eliminated REMS requirements for approved CAR-T cell therapies that have limited their availability, a move that could enable increased use in the community setting.


Can Japan’s Richest Person Save Cell Therapy’s Future?

 
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With financial help from the founder of Uniqlo, Japan’s leading facility for induced pluripotent stem cells is aiming to automate production to slash costs and kick-start R&D in the field.

Saudi Arabia Plans Advanced Manufacturing Campus Under Biotech Drive

 
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A partnership with Germfree Laboratories will bring a new facility to boost Saudi Arabia’s biotech sector as the world’s largest oil exporter tries to establish itself as a global biotech hub by 2040.

Vertex Heralds ‘Unprecedented’ Zimislecel Type 1 Diabetes Data

 
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The off-the-shelf stem cell therapy shows sustained glycemic control and a high rate of insulin independence.

BMS’s Breyanzi Stands To Further Expand Broad Lymphoma Coverage

 

The drugmaker presented data at a lymphoma meeting showing strong efficacy for the CAR-T in marginal zone lymphoma, the second most common indolent lymphoma.


ASCO: Kite’s Glioblastoma CAR-T Highlights Solid Tumor Progress

 

The company presented Phase I data for CART-EGFR-IL13Rα2, showing patient responses in the notoriously hard-to-treat and deadly brain cancer.

ASCO: Kite’s Dual-Targeting CAR-Ts Could Mitigate Toxicity, Resistance

 

Gilead’s Kite division presented Phase I data for its next-generation CAR-T therapy KITE-363 in patients with B-cell lymphomas.

Senti’s Computer-Logic Inspired Cell Therapy Shows Early Promise

 

The biotech believes its logic-gated cell therapies can get round the need for ‘clean targets’ which limit CAR-Ts and ADCs.

Strong Data For CARsgen’s CAR-T In Late-Line Gastric Cancer

 

In first confirmatory randomized controlled trial of any CAR-T therapy in solid tumors, CARsgen’s Claudin 18.2-targeting satri-cel reduced risk of death or disease progression by 63% in Chinese patients with gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer.