Even as 2023 brings continued economic uncertainty, the Philly life sciences community has much to be optimistic about. Here are five companies whose potential 2023 achievements make them worthy of attention in the first half of the year.
Cellicon Valley companies closed out 2022 with a roar. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals announced a breakthrough in NASH that could result in the first-approved drug for that disease. Galera Therapeutics closed out December with plans to seek approval for its severe oral mucositis therapy.
Galera Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a pipeline of novel, proprietary therapeutics that have the potential to transform radiotherapy in cancer, today announced the submission of its New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for avasopasem for radiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis (SOM) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing standard-of-care treatment. The FDA has granted Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy designations to avasopasem for the reduction of SOM induced by radiotherapy. SOM is characterized by the inability to eat solid food or drink liquids and may require the surgical placement of feeding tubes to maintain nutrition and hydration. There are currently no FDA-approved drugs to reduce SOM for these patients.