Weekly Quick Hits – Week of October 23, 2023

Original source here.

As RTP continues to solidify its position as a top hub for contract manufacturing organizations, the industry is making the pathway to biomanufacturing employment even easier by offering high school students in two counties the opportunity to earn a BioWork certificate. Additionally, Novo Nordisk, a sponsor of the BioWork expansion, could be making its expansion with an addition to the company’s facility in Durham.

By Alex Keown | October 27, 2023

In the Clinic

AskBio Highlights Gene Therapy Programs at ESGCT 30th Congress

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio), a subsidiary of Bayer AG, announced that 20 company abstracts will be presented at the European Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) 30th Congress, held in Brussels, Belgium. The presentations highlight the breadth of AskBio contribution to advancing gene therapy and include an oral presentation of the company’s work on immune modulation and the role of genetic diversity in translational animal models of AAV gene therapy, as well as a poster presentation on rational design of regulatable expression cassettes in non-human primates. A rundown of the company’s presentations can be found here.

Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Analysis Publishes OncoHost PROphet Study

Cary-based OncoHost announced a peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Analysis. The study examines the analytical validity of OncoHost’s proprietary PROphet test as a proteomics-based decision-support tool for metastatic NSCLC patients, demonstrating strong experimental precision and accuracy performance, as well as strong computational accuracy.

BioCryst Begins Enrollment in Proof-of-Concept Trial to Confirm Dose of BCX10013

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced the enrollment of the first patient in a proof-of-concept clinical trial evaluating BCX10013, a potential once-daily, oral Factor D inhibitor for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases. The goal of this proof-of-concept trial is to understand the preliminary efficacy and safety profile of once-daily dosing with BCX10013. If the results in patients living with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) confirm its potential for a best-in-class profile, the company plans to advance into a pivotal program in patients living with renal complement-mediated diseases, including IgA nephropathy (IgAN).