Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly EuroBiotech Report. We start this week with the U.K.'s attempts to reassure the biopharma industry that it will be a good place to do business after Brexit. UCB gave those efforts a leg up when it revealed plans to spend up to £200 million to create a new R&D hub in the country. In the longer term, the U.K. is hoping access to its trove of longitudinal health data will accelerate clinical trials and lure investment. Elsewhere, biotechs posted a mixed set of phase 2 data. Lundbeck and Genfit chalked up successes in PTSD and primary biliary cholangitis, respectively, while AstraZeneca's TLR9 agonist missed the mark in asthma. And more. — Nick Taylor
1. UCB to spend £200M to create U.K. R&D hub
UCB is set to spend up to £200 million ($255 million) to create a new R&D facility in the U.K. The British government unveiled UCB’s investment in its second life science sector deal, which disclosed total spending of £1.3 billion.
2. U.K. sets out digital, data-driven plan to accelerate R&D
The U.K. government has set out how it plans to use data and digital technologies to attract clinical trials. Near-term plans include the creation of a system for assessing study feasibility and an app to connect patients to studies.
3. Lundbeck and Otuska’s brexpiprazole hits the mark in PTSD trial
Lundbeck and Otuska’s brexpiprazole-sertraline cocktail has hit the mark in a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) phase 2. The data give Lundbeck a boost at a time when its recently installed CEO is hunting for ways to improve on lackluster growth forecasts.
4. Genfit’s elafibranor hits goal in phase 2 PBC trial
A phase 2 trial of Genfit’s elafibranor in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) has hit its primary endpoint. The readout sets Genfit up to start a pivotal trial in PBC and thereby expand its late-phase pipeline beyond NASH.
5. AstraZeneca’s TLR9 oligonucleotide misses goal in asthma phase 2
A phase 2a trial of AstraZeneca’s AZD1419 has missed its primary endpoint. AstraZeneca moved the Dynavax-partnered TLR9 agonist into the trial in the belief it could improve time to loss of asthma control in patients with eosinophilic, moderate-to-severe forms of the disease.