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Today, the 2023 STAT Summit has a lot to bring you. Our podcast covers the events in Boston live, and we hear from many of the top players in the field. Among them was Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher, who talked about how the company hopes to move forward in a more disciplined manner. We also discuss why Beam Therapeutics is slashing expenses and more.
What you need to know this morning
• Merck & Co.’s multibillion-dollar partnership with Daiichi Sankyo Co. to develop a slate of cancer drugs underscores excitement about a class of targeted chemotherapy treatments called antibody-drug conjugates. STAT reporter Drew Joseph has more details on one of the largest biopharma licensing deals in recent years.
• A new immunotherapy from Amgen produced strong response rates in patients with advanced small-cell lung cancer, results that could lead to the drug’s approval.
What if CRISPR was less commercial?
How does NurOwn’s story end? How to pronounce “Bayer”? We cover all this and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast.
At the 2023 STAT Summit, we’re live in Boston to discuss the latest news in the life sciences, including milestones in genome editing, turning points in the search for ALS treatments, and the polarization of the biotech world.
Listen here.
Why Biogen is purposefully becoming more risk-averse
Biogen CEO Christopher Viehbacher has been working to correct course after the company’s devastating Aduhelm gamble, and he shared at the STAT Summit how he plans to move the company forward in a pragmatic way. He emphasized that it is still important to pursue risky projects, but in a more rigorous manner.
“There’s a huge sense of pride within the company because we’re solving problems that no one else is solving, but ultimately you also have to get medicines through the pipeline to benefit patients, which is why we’re expanding the scope of our research and development efforts,” Vibach said. . “
The company will no longer put all its eggs in a single drug basket and hopes to shed its reputation as a high-risk neuroscience company. It will expand into immunology and rare diseases and build a pipeline capable of sustaining continued growth.
read more.
Beam Therapeutics lays off 20% of its workforce
Despite raising more than $1 billion in venture capital in recent years, base-editing biotech Beam Therapeutics plans to lay off 20% of its workforce, or about 100 employees. The company will re-evaluate some of its programs in an attempt to further cut costs in an effort to survive in the cutthroat biotech market.
Although Beam has been approved to initiate clinical trials in cancer and sick cell diseases, it has struggled to recruit enough patients to participate in these CRISPR-based studies. It will prioritize its disease cell program, as well as experimental treatments for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a rare liver disease. But it will pause its hepatitis B program and hopes to collaborate with its cancer program, which is using base editing to build allogeneic cell therapies.
read more.
Laronde merges with fellow flagship
Laronde, a once well-funded startup developing RNA-based drugs, is in the process of merging with another flagship pioneer company. It will partner with Senda Biosciences to create a new venture called Sail Biomedicines and will continue to focus on Endless RNA therapeutics – an approach that was once viewed as “a better, superior… Moderna on steroids”. A company insider told STAT.
According to investigations by STAT and the Boston Globe, Lalonde’s previous data was difficult to replicate. Lalonde shelved two of his top drug candidates after data integrity issues, and dozens of employees, including leadership, left the company.
Senda is already the product of a merger of several flagship pioneer startups. The company focuses on “SendRNA medicines” that can deliver gene therapies to specific cells.
read more.
More reading
• How to make the EU’s new joint clinical evaluation process work for industry and patients, STAT
• How biotech deals really work behind the scenes, according to STAT founder
• Zuckerberg, Chan on track to pour $50 billion into science: ‘This is the trajectory we’re on,’ STAT