Picture Illustration: Ipsa Jain
CAR-T therapy- a step closer to precision medicine?
Kite Pharma’s CAR-T candidate axicabtagene ciloleucel (previously referred to as KTE-C19) might be the first gene therapy to gain approval from FDA. The candidate therapy attained primary endpoints in a major study. The study encompassed patients with chemorefractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The study showed that out of 101 patients enrolled in ZUMA-1 trial, 82% had their cancer shrunk at least by half after six months. In addition, 41% had partial response while 36% of patients went on complete remission. The therapy comes with its own share of risks. 3 patients in the study died and 2 of the deaths were attributed to the treatment.
CAR-T therapy, one of the most controversial treatments involving gene therapy, utilizes reengineered patient’s T cells. These T cells (immune system’s killer cells) are filtered from patients blood and altered in the lab and injected back intravenously making it a “living drug”.
Novartis and Juno Therapeutics are also in the race for CAR-T therapy. However, Juno Therapeutics announced the discontinuation of their experimental product early this month. This is because thirteen percent of patient deaths were reported, majorly due to cerebral edema and brain swelling. Kite Pharma’s CART-T cell product is safer in this regard. Kite Pharma’s axicabtagene ciloleucel was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation status for diffuse large B cell lymphoma, transformed follicular lymphoma, and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma by the FDA and by the Food Priority Medicines (PRIME) regulatory support for DLBCL in the EU.
MedNess: Although Kite Pharma has not presented formal results of the trial and is expected to present their report at the annual conference of American Association of Cancer Research in April this year, the reports of axicabtegene ciloleucel meeting primary endpoints raised the stock prices by 13% of this California-based biopharmaceutical company. Kite Pharma’s CAR-T product might be first in line to gain approval from FDA by the end of this year leaving behind the products from its competitors. Therefore, stocks of Kite Pharma hold a lucrative future. However, a lot can change in further studies and it all comes down to safety and efficacy of the final product (FiercePharma, STAT).
Barclays analyst’s stern advice to Gilead Sciences
Geoff Meacham, Barclays senior analyst apparently lost patience with Gilead Sciences, urging it to “do something”. He sent an open letter to the management prompting the company to either make an acquisition or take strict measures to improve sales and profit growth. Meacham suggested measures including Gilead’s orphan drugs diversification, cost cutting in Hep-C business due to declining market, HIV franchise clarification and/ or in-licensing deals in order to gain trust of its investors (Seekingalpha)
MedNess: Gilead Sciences sales and profit growth have eroded as its hepatitis C franchise has declined, the shares have slipped by 1% and profits have declined in each of the past five quarters.
Scott Gottlieb to lead FDA under Trump administration
Scott Gottlieb who has served as a practicing physician, clinical assistant professor at New York University and health information technology adviser for the department of Health and Human Services, has been selected as Trump’s nominee to lead FDA. The president’s selection is expected to yield support from biopharma industry. Gottlieb, if confirmed, is likely to hasten the drug approval process that might have earned him Trump’s support. He was a former deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs at the FDA under George W. Bush (FiercePharma).
Earlier this month, Club SciWri initiated a new section on Science and Policy, emphasizing on the involvement of scientists in the healthcare policy decisions. Gottlieb’s nomination to lead FDA will serve as a perfect example, underscoring the relevance of this sensitive subject.
BMS appoints Thomas Lynch as its new Chief Scientific Officer
BMS has been in news for quite a while now and that too for all the wrong reasons. Amongst the turmoil and speculations of its buyout, BMS appointed Thomas Lynch as its new Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) while the former CSO Francis Cuff made the exit this Wednesday. Thomas Lynch, an oncologist, was a former board member of BMS. With the new appointment, hopes are high on the Opdivo front as well. Recently, Opdivo fell short in a major clinical trial when tested on previously untreated lung cancer patients. Opdivo is PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor and therefore its efficacy is expected to be better in patients with higher levels of this biomarker. However, BMS lost its non-small cell lung cancer lead to rival Merck’s Keytruda that succeeded in patients with a PD-L1 score of 50% or more. Also, earlier this year, BMS decided to not to seek accelerated approval for their Opdivo-plus-Yervoy combination in lung cancer. These two events combined with new checkpoint inhibitors expected from Roche, AstraZeneca, Merck and Pfizer have put BMS’s shares down. However, analysts suggest, BMS share might still be a great bargain if the drug succeeds in other arms of the trial, testing Opdivo as a monotherapy in first-line lung cancer. The company also awaits readouts from Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies evaluating Opdivo and Yervoy in other types of cancer (FiercePharma, The Motley Fool).
