Bio Roundup: Moderna’s IPO, Arena’s Comeback, E-Cig Survey & More
Summary
In other headlines this week, regulators moved to snuff out teen use of electronic cigarettes, new questions emerged from a huge study of a fish oil pill, and the race to treat hemophilia with gene therapy took another turn.—Nestle Health Sciences made a $98 million equity investment in Aimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AIMT ), bringing the Swiss company’s stake in its Brisbane, CA, partner to approximately 19 percent.—A national survey found that teen use of electronic cigarettes soared 78 percent in the past year, prompting FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb to call for stricter rules for in-person and online sales of flavored e-cig products.—Merck also said, without revealing details from a Phase 3 trial, that pembrolizumab helped extend the lives of some, but not all types of patients with advanced or metastatic esophageal cancer who have failed one treatment.—Over the weekend, Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR ) gave an interim look at Phase 2 data from its immunotherapy combination of NKTR-214 and the blockbuster nivolumab (Opdivo) in first-line melanoma.