Pharma Continues Its Ongoing Battle Against Cancer

Last Tuesday, Pfizer Inc PFE said it expects to close its $43 billion deal to buy cancer drugmaker Seagen Inc SGEN later this week. Pfizer is planning to create a new oncology division that includes the acquisition early next year.

Last Thursday, Moderna Inc MRNA revealed its clinical trial results, showing that the cancer vaccine is developing with Merck & Co Inc MRK combined with Merck’s Keytruda immunotherapy, cut the risk of recurrence or death from the "most serious form of skin cancer" by almost half after three years. 

Earlier in December, AstraZeneca PLC AZN tied up with an AI biologics company Absci Corporation to design an antibody to fight cancer. AstraZeneca is among the latest to use the power of AI for drug development. The deal that AstraZeneca made is worth up to $247 million. This development is another step on an ambitious mission AstraZeneca set out for itself to replace traditional chemotherapy with a new generation of targeted drugs.

A molecular genetics company that specializes in early detection of cancer, Mainz Biomed N.V. MYNZ just kicked off its second phase of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening campaign. 

Pfizer Provided A Disappointing 2024 Guidance Last Wednesday 

Pfizer also announced its Chief Commercial Officer Angela Hwang will be stepping down. Also, Pfizer revealed its intentions split its commercial business, not including oncology, into two divisions. One division will be focused on the United States and the other on the rest of the world. On Wednesday, Pfizer held a conference call to on its new structure, along with its 2024 guidance, driving its shares to a 10-year low.

Back in October, Pfizer slashed its full-year revenue guidance by 13%. It also announced it will be cutting $3.5 billion worth of jobs and expenses in response to lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.

Moderna And Merck Provided Encouraging Results

Data from a trial that involved 157 patients with high-risk stage III/IV melanoma revealed that the combination of the vaccine that Moderna and Merck developed, along with Merck’s immunotherapy drug reduced the risk of recurrence or death from melanoma by 49%, compared to those just taking Keytruda alone. According to Moderna, the combination lowers the chances of melanoma spreading elsewhere in the human body by as much as 62%. Among the the most common side effects of people in the trial, Moderna named fatigue, injection site pain and chills.Moderna said that this year, there will be nearly 100,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed and almost 8,000 deaths resulting from the disease in the U.S.

Mainz Biomed and Bantleon join forces to elevate corporate health with CRC screening. 

Mainz Biomed N.V. MYNZ announced today the second phase of its colorectal cancer (CRC) screening campaign through its BGM partnership with Bantleon. The latter is a shareholder of German AVIA, renowned for its high-performance lubricants and service solutions. Bantleon selected ColoAlert®, Mainz Biomed’s flagship product, a highly efficacious and easy-to-use screening test for CRC, for its corporate health program. This successful initiative will be launched during the first quarter of 2024, with CRC awareness month taking place in March. Once the sample from the ColoAlert® test is received and processed, confidential test results and explanations are returned to the employee through Mainz Biomed’s online portal.

Although certainly not as fast as the process of bringing the COVID-19 vaccine to the market, pharmaceutical companies are undoubtedly making progress in improving cancer treatment, what certainly seems to be its most difficult battle to date.

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