Almirall SA

Ted Danson and Emily in Bristol Myers Squibb's first “SO, Have You Found It?” video Ted Danson has teamed up with Bristol Myers Squibb to show how plaque psoriasis patients can get to a good place. The actor, who developed psoriasis at age 25, is fronting a new campaign to show how BMS’ Sotyktu can help alleviate physical, mental and social burdens linked to the skin condition. BMS has made Danson, an actor known for roles in TV shows such as "Cheers" and "The Good Place," the face of its “SO, Have You Found It?” campaign. The campaign, which builds on “Found It” DTC spots that BMS began running last year, will discuss psoriasis, how it affects lives and the impact effective therapies can have.  To kick off the campaign, BMS has released a four-minute video in which Danson interviews a patient who took Sotyktu to treat their psoriasis. Danson, who is not taking Sotyktu, discussed how psoriasis affected his life.  “My first reaction was I was so angry that my body was somehow betraying me. People would ask me to go swimming. I'd make up the craziest excuses not to be in a bathing suit or spas. Never went to a spa,” Danson said. “I wonder if we come across as whiners. ‘Oh, they have patchy skin. Big deal.’ But it actually does impact not just your emotion, but it's not good for your body.” After Danson and the interviewee, Emily, share their early experiences with psoriasis, the actor turns the chat to the option “to take something that is working with your chemistry because you're treating it at its source.” Emily explains that she spoke to her dermatologist, began taking Sotyktu and now has “a sense of freedom and relief.” The video is the latest in an industrywide set of promotional materials to focus on how psoriasis affects quality of life. Almirall made a multipart drama series about how psoriasis can shape lives. And Amgen, which paid BMS $13.4 billion for the psoriasis blockbuster Otezla, ran an ad about a man who “thinks his flaky red patches are all people see.” BMS offloaded Otezla to clear a barrier to its merger with Celgene. The deal made deucravacitinib, which is now sold as Sotyktu, the focus of BMS’ work on psoriasis. BMS won FDA approval in 2022 and racked up (PDF) sales of $170 million globally last year. The company told investors in February that it expects to see around 10,000 paid prescriptions in the first quarter and roughly double that figure this year.

EmendoBio’s technology will aid Anocca in delivering tailored therapies to patients more rapidly. Credit: Natali _ Mis / Shutterstock.com. Swedish biotech company Anocca has entered a non-exclusive licensing agreement with EmendoBio to use the latter’s OMNI-A4 nuclease, a gene editing technology [that cleaves chains of nucleotides in nucleic acids into smaller units]. This strategic move is set to expedite developing and manufacturing Anocca’s pipeline of T cell receptor-engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapies, targeting difficult-to-treat solid cancers. The latest development comes after Anocca received good manufacturing practice compliance certification and a manufacturing licence from regulators in Sweden for its cell therapy production facility. Anocca CEO and co-founder Reagan Jarvis stated: “Integrating EmendoBio’s nuclease into our manufacturing process supports Anocca’s aim of generating the highest-quality cell therapy products. “This next-generation gene editing system provides the precision and efficiency needed to scale out production of our growing libraries of TCR-T products in a high-precision manufacturing process. See Also: Eli Lilly-backed Zephyr AI secures $111m for precision medicine tech Almirall to license Eloxx’s ZKN-013 for rare skin conditions “We are excited to work with EmendoBio to develop gene-edited TCR-T cell therapies as we prepare for our first clinical programme targeting the KRAS driver mutation in a hard-to-treat solid cancer.” EmendoBio’s technology is expected to significantly enhance Anocca’s manufacturing expertise. It will also aid the company in delivering tailored therapies to patients more rapidly, focusing on the genetic causes of hard-to-treat cancer types. The licensed gene editing technology is part of EmendoBio’s nuclease suite designed for high activity and specificity within cell therapy applications. EmendoBio director Dr Ei Yamada stated: “This non-exclusive licensing agreement marks a significant milestone in the field of T cell therapy. “Together with Anocca, we are embracing the shared vision of harnessing the potential of gene editing and cellular therapies to make a profound impact on patient outcomes. Our combined expertise will unlock novel avenues for therapeutic development and push the boundaries of what’s possible in advanced medicine.” In May 2023, Anocca secured Skr400m ($38.9m) in an equity financing round to develop next-generation cell therapies for cancer on an industrial scale. AMF and Mellby Gård led the funding round. Cell & Gene Therapy coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology is supported by Cytiva. Editorial content is independently produced and follows the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Topic sponsors are not involved in the creation of editorial content. Free Whitepaper Cell and gene therapies: Pipe dream to pipeline The cell and gene industry is gaining momentum, with a new wave of therapies promising to transform the way doctors treat, and even cure, disease. In this report, Cytiva and GlobalData have collaborated to explore the rise of the cell and gene therapy industries, the current state of the market, present and future opportunities for advancement, and the challenges that lie ahead. By Cytiva Thematic By downloading this case study, you acknowledge that GlobalData may share your information with Cytiva Thematic and that your personal data will be used as described in their Privacy Policy

AstraZeneca’s rare disease portfolio generated $7.76bn in global sales in 2023, as per the company’s Q4 financials. Image Credit: EllaSt / Shutterstock. AstraZeneca has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Amolyt Pharma, which specialises in therapies for rare endocrine diseases, in a deal worth $1.05bn. As per the contract, AstraZeneca will pay $800m upfront along with potential regulatory milestone payments of $250m. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2024. Amolyt’s lead candidate, eneboparatide (AZP-3601), was a central part of the acquisition. Eneboparatide is a subcutaneous parathyroid hormone receptor 1 (PTHR1) agonist for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism. This condition is caused by a deficiency in the parathyroid hormone that results in decreased calcium and elevated phosphorus levels in the blood. Dysregulation of parathyroid hormone can lead to osteoporosis and chronic kidney disease. Amolyt launched a Phase III CALYPSO trial (NCT05778071) for eneboparatide in May 2023. Topline data from the trial is expected by the end of this year. Another candidate in Amolyt’s pipeline is AZP-3813. The therapy is a peptide growth hormone receptor antagonist, which is being developed as a potential add-on to somatostatin analogues for the treatment of acromegaly, a condition associated with abnormally high secretion of growth hormone. It can lead to a variety of complications including heart failure and impaired glucose tolerance. The company initiated a Phase I trial for AZP-3813 in June 2023. See Also: Almirall to license Eloxx’s ZKN-013 for rare skin conditions Risk adjusted net present value: What is the current valuation of AstraZeneca’s AZD-3427? AstraZeneca’s rare disease portfolio generated $7.76bn in global sales in 2023, as per the company’s Q4 financials. The UK pharma giant has been investing heavily in rare disease therapies starting with the $39bn acquisition of Alexion in 2021. Last year, the company paid $1bn to acquire an early-stage gene therapy portfolio for rare diseases from Pfizer. According to a GlobalData report, innovation in rare diseases is seen as a risky investment, with rare oncology indications dominating most of the rare disease pipeline. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology . Despite this, AstraZeneca has seen some success amongst rare diseases that are not cancer-related. In September 2023, the Phase III trial for a rare vasculitis therapy, Fasenra (benralizumab), met its primary endpoint. The study found that Fasenra was non-inferior to the current standard of care, Pfizer’s Nucala (mepolizumab). Earlier this year, AstraZeneca reported positive outcomes from its Japan Phase III clinical trial of acoramidis, an investigational treatment for a rare cardiomyopathy, transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).