Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly EuroBiotech Report. We start with Neil Woodford's bad week. The once-lauded fund manager suspended trading in his flagship investment vehicle to stem the outflows. Elsewhere, the big beasts of European pharma were in the news. Bayer struck a protein degradation deal with Arvinas. AstraZeneca talked up its approach to cancer. Sanofi presented data on its Darzalex rival isatuximab. Novartis' asthma combination QMF149 beat standard of care. And more. — Nick Taylor
1. Woodford suspends trading in flagship fund after investors flee
Neil Woodford has suspended trading in his flagship fund after investors withdrew £10 million ($13 million) a day last month. The surge in outflows follows sustained poor performance by the fund that culminated in it being among the worst performers in May.
2. Bayer inks Arvinas deal to develop protein degraders
Bayer is paying Arvinas $17.5 million (€15.5 million) upfront to develop protein-degrading treatments for cardiovascular, oncological and gynecological diseases. The partners will apply Arvinas’ targeted protein degrader technology to targets selected by Bayer.
3. ASCO: AstraZeneca's Baselga on tailoring treatments and the march to cure cancer
AstraZeneca posted promising data for its AKT inhibitor capivasertib paired with the hormonal therapy Faslodex in patients with ER-positive breast cancer. The combo staved off cancer for 10 months—double the time Faslodex plus placebo logged—and helped patients live a median of six months longer.
4. ASCO: Sanofi's anti-CD38 combo boosts responses, extends lives in advanced multiple myeloma
Sanofi’s anti-CD38 antibody isatuximab added to the standard of care for relapsed multiple myeloma extended patients’ lives and nearly doubled the number of patients for whom the standard of care worked.
5. Novartis' asthma combo tops standard of care in phase 3
Novartis’ asthma treatment combining a long-acting beta agonist with an inhaled corticosteroid improved lung function better than the corticosteroid alone, phase 3 data show. The study tested the combo, dubbed QMF149, in more than 800 patients who still had asthma symptoms despite taking medication to control them.