Weekly Quick Hits (Philly) – Week of August 28, 2023

Tris Pharma picks up a $16.6 million NIAID grant, Penn receives a $19 million grant from the NIH, and Bristol Myers Squibb awarded $1 million to Drexel’s Biomed Engineering Program. For these and other life science stories, continue reading.

By Mark Terry | September 1, 2023

Quick Hits is BioBuzz’s weekly round up of all the life science news you don’t want to miss, in your region of interest. Don’t miss a beat; SUBSCRIBE to our weekly Quick Hits newsletter via LinkedIn (BioHealth Capital Region, Greater Philadelphia, Research Triangle Park) or get it delivered to your inbox every week.

Funding, Awards and Collaborations 

Tris Pharma Awarded 5-Year, $16.6 Million Grant to Advance Cebranopadol for Opioid Use Disorder

Tris Pharma (Monmouth Junction, NJ) was awarded a National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the NIH, grant of up to $16.6 million over five years. The award will be used to advance cebranopadol for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

Penn Medicine Receives $19 Million from NIH to Establish Maternal Health Science Hub

Penn Medicine received a seven-year, $19 million grant to implement a science hub as part of the NIH’s new Maternal Health Research of Centers of Excellence initiative. The focus is on researching ways to decrease pregnancy-related complications and deaths as well as promoting maternal health equity.

Drexel’s Biomed Engineering Program Receives $1 Million Grant from BMS

Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, with Drexel’s College of Medicine, received almost $1 million in grants from Bristol Myers Squibb to create a new Cell and Gene Therapy Technology, Engineering, Analytics, Manufacturing & Science academic programs called CGT-TEAMS. The program launched this summer for undergraduate and graduate students.

Soccer Superstar Mia Hamm Partners with Incyte on Bone Marrow Transplant Awareness

Soccer superstar Mia Hamm lost her brother more than 25 years ago after a complication from a bone marrow transplant (BMT). Hamm has now partnered with Incyte (Wilmington, Del.) to raise awareness of BMTs and serious complications, such as graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD).

Proscia and DoMore Partner on AI Approach to Colorectal Cancer Diagnostics

Philadelphia-based Proscia and Oslo-based DoMore Diagnostics have partnered on AI-powered clinical decision support for pathologists in predicting outcomes for colorectal cancer patients. The plan is to develop an integrated solution that combines DoMore’s CE-IVDD marked Histotype Px Colorectal digital biomarker with Proscia’s CE-IVDR marked Concentriq Dx enterprise pathology platform.

Sonnet BioTherapeutics Implements Revere Stock Split

Princeton, NJ-based Sonnet BioTherapeutics announced a 1-for-22 reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock. The reverse split ensures its common stock meets the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

In the Clinic

BMS Presented Long-Term Follow-Up Data from 2 Phase III Trials of Camzyos in Cardiomyopathy

Bristol Myers Squibb announced new long-term follow-up results from two Phase III trials of Camzyos (mavacamten) in adult patients with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The drug is a first-in-class cardiac myosin inhibitor.

BriaCell Accepts Letter of Intent Regarding Phase II Investigator-Initiated Study

BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (Philadelphia and Vancouver, BC) announced it accepted a letter of intent from Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli, Director of Breast Medical Oncology and Associate Director of Precision Medicine in the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. The letter outlines plans, upon regulatory approval, to launch a Phase II investigator-initiated trial of BriaCell’s immunotherapy, Bria-IMT, in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor, in early-stage, newly diagnosed, high-risk, triple-negative breast cancer patients in the neoadjuvant setting.

Research Roundup

BMS-Pfizer Study Addresses Real-World Impact of Switching or Continuing Eliquis

The Bristol Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance (Princeton, NJ and New York) presented results from ATHENS, a retrospective real-world study showing that switching from Eliquis (apixaban) to rivaroxaban in Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation (NVAF) patients was associated with a higher risk of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding than patients who continued Eliquis. The data was presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2023.

Penn Research: The Physics of Fat Droplets Endanger DNA

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science found that fat-filled lipid droplets have the ability to indent and puncture the nucleus of cells. This can cause elevated DNA damage, which is linked to numerous diseases, including cancer. The fat-filled lipid droplets are many times smaller than fat cells but are found inside many different cell types.

Penn Research: Replacing Saturated Fat and Salt with Herbs/Spices is Tasty and Healthy

Researchers at Penn State analyzed data showing how food companies removed saturated fats from their products, but replaced them with sugars, which were generally no healthier. They found that a healthier approach was to replace much of the saturated fat and salt with herbs and spices.

Penn Research: The Link Between Memory, Appetite and Obesity

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have published research that identified a link between impaired connections between the dorsolateral hippocampus and the lateral hypothalamus and obesity. The belief is that this dysfunction may impact the individual’s ability to control or regulate emotional responses when anticipating rewarding meals or treats.

Penn Research: Immunotherapy Strategy Against All Blood Cancers

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published research that used engineered CAR T cells to target CD45, a surface marker found on almost all blood cells, including almost all blood cancer cells. The team used CRISPR gene editing called “epitope editing” which would help the cells target only the cancerous blood cells with CD45.

On the Hill – Regulatory and Advocacy

FDA Approves BMS’s Reblozyl for Anemia in Adults with MDS

The FDA approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s Reblazyl (luspatercept-aamt) for anemia without previous erythropoiesis-stimulating agent use in adults with very low-to-intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes who may require regular RBC transfusions. This expanded indication to the first-line setting was built on interim data from the Phase III COMMANDS trial.

Harmony Reiterates Confidence in Wakix Patent After Favorable USPTO Decision

Harmony Biosciences (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) reiterated its confidence in its Wakix (pitolisant) patents after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offered a favorable decision to deny a Petition for Reexamination over a patent over the active ingredient in Wakix. The company repeated its belief that the drug represents a billion-dollar-plus opportunity in narcolepsy alone.

NRx Pharma Submits IND Application for NRX-101 for Chronic Pain

NRx Pharmaceuticals (Radnor, Pa.) submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA for NRX-101 to treat chronic pain. The IND is built on research on the use of D-cycloserine, a key ingredient of NRX-101. The company also announced a definitive purchase agreement for preferred shares at $0.40 per share, which will generate about $1.2 million in cash from existing investors.

People on the Move

Penn Med Appoints Kevin Kline, MD as Inaugural Medical Director for LGBTQ+ Health

Penn Medicine appointed Kevin Kline, MD, an assistant professor of Family Medicine and Community Health in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as its first medical director for LGBTQ+ Health. The Program for LGBTQ+ Health works to improve access to care, as well as quality of care and patient experience, for LGBTQ+ people across the health system.

Tausif Butt Joins Idorsia Pharma U.S. as President and General Manager

Idorsia Pharmaceuticals U.S. (Radnor, Pa.) appointed Tausif (“Tosh”) Butt as the new President and General Manager, succeeding Patty Torr. Butt was most recently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ChemoCentryx.