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Today, a brief rundown of news from Biogen and Novartis, as well as updates from Resalis Therapeutics and Moderna that you may have missed.
Biogen's top ranks underwent major changes this week, as the big biotechnology company appointed a new chief medical officer and a new finance head. Daniel Quirk took over the former role on Monday, after serving as senior vice president of worldwide medical affairs for Bristol Myers Squibb's immunology and neuroscience units. Meanwhile, Biogen said its chief financial officer for the past four years, Michael McDonnell, plans to retire from the company at the end of February. He will be replaced by Biogen's top accountant, Robin Kramer. In a statement, McDonnell was praised for his "pivotal role in recent strategic acquisitions of late-stage assets and in creating a culture of financial discipline." — Jacob Bell
Novartis has slashed the value it ascribes to the MorphoSys business it acquired earlier this year, revealing in a third quarter earnings statement that it took an $800 million write down to the acquired assets’ goodwill value. The acquisition was primarily focused on MorphoSys’ drug pelabresib, which treats myelofibrosis. While Novartis initially expected to file it this year for approval, results since have forced the company to push back those plans. — Ned Pagliarulo
Sanofi has taken an equity stake in Resalis Therapeutics, the privately held biotechnology company said Monday. Based in Torino, Italy, Resalis is working on an RNA medicine it believes could help treat metabolic diseases such as obesity. The company is preparing to start a Phase 1 trial of the medicine, an antisense oligonucleotide aimed at a non-coding strip of RNA that regulates the production of lipids and function of mitochondria. Resalis thinks it could “enhance the efficacy” of GLP-1 agonists. — Ned Pagliarulo
Partners Moderna and Merck & Co. are starting a third Phase 3 trial of their personalized cancer vaccine, announcing Monday the initiation of a study testing it with Keytruda as adjuvant treatment of earlier-stage non-small cell lung cancer. A little less than one year ago, the companies released promising data on their vaccine, dubbed V940 or mRNA-4157, in people with melanoma. The two ongoing Phase 3 studies, respectively in melanoma and lung cancer, are set to complete in 2029 and 2030, according to a federal database. — Ned Pagliarulo