The week's life sciences news includes updates on a biotech company's investment and service deal, a big gift that will support research and patient care at a local hospital, a study involving a potential new use for an existing drug, and more.
Here is the roundup:
BriaCell
The Philadelphia and Vancouver biotechnology company working on cancer therapies has received a $4 million investment as part of a new master service and technology agreement with Prevail InfoWorks.
Prevail InfoWorks, a Philadelphia contract research organization, will provide clinical services and technologies for BriaCell’s upcoming pivotal study in advanced metastatic breast cancer.
Under the terms of the agreement, the affiliated Prevail Partners purchased 463,408 common shares of BriaCell stock at $8.63 per share. The purchase price represents a 20% premium to the trailing 30 trading day price of BriaCell (NASDAQ: BCTX).
BriaCell's Phase 3 trial for its advanced metastatic breast cancer drug is expected to begin later this year.
Dr. William V. Williams, BriaCell’s CEO, said Prevail InfoWorks has extensive experience and expertise in clinical trial management that "should assure rapid accrual and smooth execution" of the study.
Founded in 2006, BriaCell has 16 employees, seven of whom work at the company's Philadelphia office at B+labs in Cira Centre.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The pediatric hospital received a multimillion-dollar gift from the Topolewski family to establish the Topolewski Pediatric Heart Valve Center, which will conduct research in treating valve diseases.
The donation, the exact amount of which is being kept confidential, will also be used to establish an endowed chair in pediatric cardiology. Dr. Matthew Jolley, an attending anesthesiologist and cardiologist at CHOP, will be the inaugural Topolewski endowed chair.
CHOP said the Topolewski Pediatric Heart Valve Center will bring together a comprehensive team of cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, scientists, researchers, and experts in interventional cardiology and cardiac imaging with a goal of developing "precise, evidence-based, long-term" treatment solutions for infants and children with heart valve disease.
“This gift will help to accelerate both our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of heart valve disease, as well as the development of new imaging platforms and innovative translational technology to more precisely tailor our therapies for children with heart valve disorders," said Dr. Jonathan Chen, co-director of the cardiac center at CHOP.
Kristin and Ed Topolewski said when their daughter Cora was born, she was diagnosed with congenital heart disease and received life-saving open heart surgery at CHOP when she was just four days old. "We are incredibly grateful for the care she received and are happy to invest in the Topolewski Pediatric Heart Valve Center to help CHOP clinicians devise new diagnostic and treatment options that will directly benefit children like Cora," the Topolewskis said in a joint statement.
Idorsia
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc. of Radnor said it is supporting a clinical study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop new therapies to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Phase 2 multi-center study will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of potential therapeutic interventions — including Idorsia's drug Quviviq — in active-duty U.S. service members and veterans with PTSD.
The clinical trial is expected to enroll its first subject by the end of June, and the Quviviq arm of the study is forecast to run for about three years.
Quviviq was approved in 2022 in the United States and the European Union, and it is the only FDA-approved insomnia medication being evaluated in this study. Actress Jennifer Anniston and Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn have both appeared in promotions for the medicine.
Quick hits
Camden-based Cooper University Health Care’s Innovation Center and DigiCare Realized of North Jersey have signed a partnership agreement to test the deployment and implementation of an artificial intelligence-powered technology designed to identify undiagnosed cases of early stage Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bethann Mercanti, director of clinical operations at the Cooper Neurological Institute, said the technology has the potential to "revolutionize Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and treatment.”… Globus Medical (NYSE: GMED) of Audobon has received FDA marketing clearance for its Reflect scoliosis correction system under the federal agency's humanitarian device exemption pathway. Reflect — which uses a flexible, durable cord instead of rigid metal rods — is designed to correct progressive scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine, in young patients while preserving motion, maintaining stability, and allowing for future modulated growth. … Philadelphia-based Cabaletta Bio (NASDAQ: CABA) received FDA clearance to conduct a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its experimental cell therapy treatment of myositis, a disease that makes a person's immune system attack their muscles. The new drug candidate, CABA-201, was also cleared for testing by the FDA earlier this year as a potential treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own tissue. … Avantor Performance Materials (NYSE: AVTR), a Radnor lab products and services provider, said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Thomas A. Szlosek is leaving the company effective Aug. 2 to pursue an undisclosed opportunity outside the life sciences industry. Avantor has initiated a search to identify the company's next CFO.
