EuroBiotech Report—AstraZeneca cancer trial, GSK attempts R&D turnaround, Sanofi digital investment and more

Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly EuroBiotech Report. Our top stories this week center on AstraZeneca seeing its Array-licensed MEK drug fail in another cancer setting, while GlaxoSmithKline, armed with new research personnel, is gunning for the immune system and a new R&D philosophy, starting with a new pact with 23andMe. And more. Ben Adams.  

1. AstraZeneca’s selumetinib flops in thyroid cancer, adding to list of failures

Amid tussling over licensing checks and trying to gain reprieve, AstraZeneca quietly announced in its quarterly update this week that selumetinib has once again missed the mark in a cancer test.

2. GlaxoSmithKline’s big R&D idea? Focusing on the immune system, as Barron injects new philosophy

New GSK CSO Hal Barron says, "At the core of [our] new approach is identifying new medicines by focusing on ways to modulate the immune system, leveraging the vast amounts of human genetic data now being generated, analyzing this complex data with machine learning and creating an accountable culture where smart risk-taking is rewarded."

3. GlaxoSmithKline makes $300M investment in 23andMe, forms 50-50 R&D pact

GlaxoSmithKline has made a $300 million equity investment in 23andMe as part of a deal that pulls it close to the consumer genetics pioneer. The partners are contributing preclinical programs to a 50-50 collaboration that will use 23andMe’s genotypic and phenotypic data to accelerate progress.

4. Sanofi VC arm backs $17M round for digital medicine startup Click Therapeutics

French Big Pharma Sanofi, through its venture arm, has led a $17 million funding round for Click Therapeutics, a startup looking to boost work on an online platform of "prescription digital therapeutics."

5. Sangamo strikes TxCell takeover to gain CAR-Treg pipeline

Sangamo Therapeutics is set to acquire TxCell for its CAR-Treg platform and pipeline. The €72 million ($84 million) takeover will position Sangamo to move a CAR-carrying regulatory T-cell candidate into testing in solid organ transplant patients next year.

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