LAUSR

Industry update August 2017 This issue’s update gives a snapshot of the news from the field of therapeutic delivery in August 2017. The news this month featured important developments in the field of stem cell based therapy. The biggest story was the US FDA’s approval of Novartis’ Kymriah R © (tisagenlecleucel) for refractory or relapsed B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and young adults. On the business front, both CSL Behring and Gilead acquired stem cell based assets through their takeover of Calimmune and Kite Pharma respectively, with Gilead forking out nearly $12 billion for Kite due to its lead candidate, axicabtagene ciloleucel, being in the fast lane for the FDA and EMA approval. The news is, as usual, sourced from press releases and company websites.