In early December, Seaport neighbors Vertex and Entrada announced a global collaboration focused on discovering and developing therapeutics for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). The collaboration includes Entrada’s program for DM1, ENTR-701, which is in late-stage preclinical development. Entrada’s EEV therapeutics are designed to enable the efficient intracellular delivery of a wide range of therapeutics […]

Moderna has announced positive topline data from its Phase 3 trial of its vaccine candidate, mRNA-1345, targeting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. The primary efficacy endpoints have been met, including vaccine efficacy (VE) of 83.7% against RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease. Based on these results, Moderna intends to submit for regulatory approval in […]

Waltham-based, clinical-stage biopharm CinCor is slated to be acquired by British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Founded in 2018, CinCor’s mission is to bring innovation to the pharmaceutical treatment of cardio-renal diseases. Its lead asset, baxdrostat, is in clinical development for the treatment of hypertension. Under the terms of the merger agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire all of […]

Eisai and Biogen have announced that the FDA has approved lecanemab-irmb (brand-named Leqembi in the U.S.) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) under the Accelerated Approval Pathway. The approval is based on Phase 2 data that demonstrated that Leqembi reduced the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque in the brain, a defining feature of […]

Moderna and Merck have announced that the Phase 2b trial of their investigational personalized mRNA melanoma cancer vaccine (mRNA-4157/V940) in combination with Merck’s Keytruda demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in recurrence-free survival versus Keytruda alone. These results are the first demonstration of efficacy for an investigational mRNA cancer treatment in a randomized […]

Clinical-stage genetic medicines company Wave Life Sciences and GSK have announced a strategic collaboration to advance oligonucleotide therapeutics, including Wave’s WVE-006 preclinical RNA editing program targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The discovery collaboration has an initial four-year research term. It combines GSK’s unique insights from human genetics, as well as its global development and commercial capabilities, […]

Cambridge startup Clear Creek Bio has announced that it will collaborate with Pfizer to develop inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) for the oral treatment of COVID-19. PLpro is an essential enzyme, which, along with the main protease (Mpro), plays an important role in viral replication. This program will expand Pfizer’s innovative anti-infective pipeline […]

Building on the CRISPR gene-editing system, MIT researchers have designed a new tool that can snip out faulty genes and replace them with new ones, in a safer and more efficient way. Using this system, the researchers showed that they could deliver genes as long as 36,000 DNA base pairs to several types of human […]

At its November meeting, the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) approved three new life sciences lab development projects for downtown Boston: At 125 Lincoln Street,on the border between the Leather District and Chinatown, Oxford Properties plans to convert a dilapidated building housing parking, retail, and office space, into a new, 11-story research and development building […]

Results from Eisai’s large global Phase 3 confirmatory clinical study of lecanemab have been presented at the 2022 Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference in San Francisco, California. Lecanemab is an investigational anti-amyloid beta (Aβ) protofibril antibody for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with confirmed presence of […]