Legend Biotech's founding chief scientific officer has left the company without a new destination. Takeda has signed another gene therapy deal with Evozyne to work on protein sequences. Pfizer is rolling out a voluntary retirement scheme in India amid a digital push. And more.
1. Legend Biotech CSO abruptly leaves Johnson & Johnson's CAR-T partner he co-founded
Hot off an FDA approval for Johnson & Johnson-partnered CAR-T therapy Cavykti, Legend Biotech has bid farewell to its co-founder and chief scientific officer, Frank Fan, M.D., Ph.D. In a revelation that suggests Fan was likely forced out amid an internal power struggle, the former science chief told Fierce Biotech he hasn’t settled on his next gig.
2. Takeda's gene therapy hunger not yet quelled as Evozyne pact extended for $400M in biobucks
Takeda has signed another gene therapy deal with Evozyne. For an undisclosed “double-digit million” upfront payment, Evozyne will use its computational and machine learning platform to discover novel protein sequences for Takeda’s gene therapies. The deal could be worth $400 million down the line.
3. Pfizer rolls out voluntary retirement scheme in India as it dives deeper into digital
Pfizer is beefing up digital capabilities in India to cope with changes in how its customers and patients experience products and services. As a result, the company has rolled out a voluntary retirement scheme to field sales force there. Meanwhile, it wants to recruit workers who have “futuristic skills and a growth mindset.”
4. Amid Exkivity launch, Takeda beefs up in-house digital content team, AI to educate oncologists
Takeda’s oncology department is also building up its digital content team. Pallavi Garg, who who just became Takeda’s head of global oncology and pipeline strategy in February, is putting together a team of in-house digital content experts to cope with oncologists’ growing appetite for high-quality scientific content.
AstraZeneca has put down $25 million upfront and is committing up to $325 million on a preclinical asset from China's Harbour BioMed. The deal centers on a bispecific targeting Claudin18.2, the other arm of the antibody binds to CD3 to activate T cells. Several companies are working on antibodies, cell therapies and mRNA therapies against the taret.
China’s Ark Biopharmaceutical reported that its respiratory syncytial virus antiviral, ziresovir, showed a significant reduction on a bronchiolitis sign and symptom score after two days compared with placebo in infants. The company now plans to file the drug, originally discovered at Roche, with Chinese authorities. The announcement came as Pfizer unveiled a $525 million deal to buy RSV specialist ReViral.
7. ACC: Massive Chinese smartwatch study screens millions for signs of afib
A massive screening study in China spanning more than 2.8 million participants found that consumer smartwatches could help detect signs of abnormal heart rhythm. The study focused on Huawei devices equipped with photoplethysmography sensors—the same light-based readers found on the undersides of Apple Watches, Fitbits and more—and paired with an app.
8. Asymchem completes construction at new Chinese production sites
Chinese CDMO Asymchem Labs has completed construction at two new production buildings. The Dunhua project added about 500 cubic meters of batch capacity, while the Tianjin API expansion will increase batch capacity there by 160 cubic meters.