May 13 Company Quick Takes: PeptiDream/JCR, Grail, Lilly, Onconova/HanX, Regeneron
PeptiDream, JCR deal produces drug carriers for CNS delivery
The 2016 partnership between PeptiDream Inc. (Tokyo:4587) and JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4552) has led to the development of constrained peptides that bind TFRC and are capable of being conjugated to deliver biologics or small molecules across the blood-brain brain barrier. The companies will now conduct PK studies, prioritize development of peptide-delivered small molecules and seek out-licensing deals for the carrier peptides.
Breakthrough designation for Grail diagnostic
FDA granted breakthrough device designation to a multicancer early detection blood test from Grail Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.) based on circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation. Grail's clinical research program for developing the blood test comprises three large-scale studies in about 165,000 subjects to create an atlas of genomic cancer signals in the blood, and includes the fully enrolled Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA) and STRIVE studies, and the newly initiated 50,000-subject SUMMIT study (see "Grail Reports First Data from CCGA Study")...