Takeda America Holdings, Inc.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Feb. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) today announced that the company has appointed Timothy P. Walbert, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Horizon Therapeutics, to the company's Board of Directors, effective Feb. 24, 2025. Mr. Walbert led Horizon, a company that focused on medicines for rare diseases, from its founding in 2008 to acquisition by Amgen in 2023. Mr. Walbert is currently senior advisor, Amgen. Prior to Horizon, Mr. Walbert served as president and chief executive officer of IDM Pharma, which was acquired by Takeda in 2009, and before that held leadership positions at NeoPharm Inc. and Abbott (now AbbVie). He brings more than 30 years of industry experience across a number of pharmaceutical companies, including Pharmacia, Merck, Pfizer and Wyeth Ayerst. Mr. Walbert currently sits on the boards of directors of Sagimet Biosciences, Mirum Pharmaceuticals and Century Therapeutics. "We are very pleased to welcome Tim to our Board of Directors," said Alexander Hardy, president and chief executive officer of BioMarin. "Tim is a deeply talented and well-respected leader with significant operational expertise, who brings a wealth of insight in commercializing medicines. Over the course of his career in the biopharmaceutical industry, he is someone who has been known for always putting patients first. The combination of his business acumen and patient-centered approach make him an ideal addition to our Board." "I am pleased to join BioMarin's Board as the company works to deliver on the new strategy laid out last year focused on innovation, growth and value creation," said Mr. Walbert. "Throughout my time in the industry, I have focused on prioritizing the needs of patients and I look forward to working with BioMarin as the team advances new medicines for people with genetically defined conditions." About BioMarin BioMarin is a global biotechnology company dedicated to translating the promise of genetic discovery into medicines that make a profound impact on the life of each patient. The San Rafael, California-based company, founded in 1997, has a proven track record of innovation with eight commercial therapies and a strong clinical and preclinical pipeline. Using a distinctive approach to drug discovery and development, BioMarin pursues treatments that offer new possibilities for patients and families around the world navigating rare or difficult-to-treat genetic conditions. To learn more, please visit www.biomarin.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements about the business prospects of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BioMarin), including without limitation, statements about: expectations regarding the addition of Mr. Timothy P. Walbert to BioMarin's Board of Directors and BioMarin's strategy execution and advancement of new medicines. These forward-looking statements are predictions and involve risks and uncertainties such that actual results may differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: finalizing the appointment of Mr. Walbert, BioMarin's success in the commercialization of its commercial products, impacts of macroeconomic and other external factors on BioMarin's operations; results and timing of current and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials and the release of data from those trials; BioMarin's ability to successfully manufacture its commercial products and product candidates; and those factors detailed in BioMarin's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the factors contained under the caption "Risk Factors" in BioMarin's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated by any subsequent reports. Stockholders are urged not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. BioMarin is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. BioMarin® is a registered trademark of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. Contacts: Investors Media Traci McCarty Marni Kottle BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (415) 455-7558 (415) 218-7111 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biomarin-announces-appointment-of-timothy-p-walbert-to-board-of-directors-302383833.html SOURCE BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.

Ascentage Pharma, a China-based drug developer with global ambitions, now has $126.4 million from a U.S. IPO that will mainly support late-stage clinical development of two medicines that could offer advantages over some currently available cancer therapies. Ascentage has traded on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 2019. In preliminary financial terms set earlier this week for its U.S. stock market debut, the company planned to offer more than 7.3 million American depositary shares (ADS) priced at $20.34 each. Late Thursday, Ascentage, which is based in Suzhou, China, and maintains U.S. operations in Rockville, Maryland, priced its offering at $17.25 per ADS. Those shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the stock symbol “AAPG.” The only commercialized Ascentage product is olverembatinib, a drug approved in China as a treatment for certain patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). This drug is a small molecule inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, enzymes that drive cancer growth. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are already available, such as the Novartis drugs Scemblix and Gleevec. But CML can become resistant to these therapies, Ascentage said in its IPO filing. Furthermore, first- and second-generation TKIs have not been able to address CML with T315I mutations, which are associated with rapid disease progression and limited patient survival. Healthcare Using Data to Help Healthcare Practices Succeed A new report from Relatient, A Data-Driven Guide to Patient Access Succes, highlights how focusing on data accuracy and relevance can enhance the performance of healthcare practices. By Relatient Ascentage describes olverembatinib as a next-generation drug for CML that is driven by T315I mutations and is also resistant to first- and second-generation TKIs. The company points to real-world data in China showing benefit in patients whose cancers developed resistance to the Novartis drugs. “In a five-year follow-up of CML [in the chronic phase] patients treated with olverembatinib, 73% had remained on the treatment, response rates continued to increase and the prevalence of treatment-related adverse events, or TRAEs, continued to decrease over such period,” Ascentage said in the IPO filing. “Therefore, we believe that olverembatinib, with its real-world patient data in China, where it is approved, has the potential to be a global therapy for CML.” An ongoing Phase 3 clinical program for olverembatinib is enrolling patients in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and China. One of these pivotal studies is testing the drug as a monotherapy for CML. The design of this study is intended to support an FDA new drug application, which Ascentage plans to file in 2026. Additional Phase 3 tests are evaluating olverembatinib in newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphocytic leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Olverembatinib may achieve Ascentage’s global ambitions in the hands of a big pharmaceutical company. Last June, Ascentage granted Takeda Pharmaceuticals International an exclusive option to license olverembatinib for development and commercialization outside of greater China and Russia. Takeda paid $100 million for that option; the option exercise fee and milestone payments could bring Ascentage up to $1.2 billion more, according to the IPO filing. presented by Health IT Transforming Patient Care: The Role of AI-Powered Assistants The progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping patient care, across various dimensions, from facilitating faster discharge to curating treatment plans and suggesting lifestyle changes. By IT Medical The next drug in Ascentage’s pipeline is lisaftoclax, a small molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2. Overexpression of this protein can contribute to tumor growth and drug resistance. Ascentage is developing lisaftoclax for various types of blood cancers. A new drug application for the molecule is under regulatory review in China for the treatment of advanced cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL). If approved, Ascentage plans to launch the lisaftoclax in China in 2025 and then pursue regulatory approvals in multiple countries, according to the filing. Its main competition would be Venclexta, a Bcl-2 inhibitor marketed by partners AbbVie and Genentech. However. Venclexta is not currently approved in China for CLL or SLL. The Ascentage pipeline includes additional small molecules in earlier stages of development, mainly for cancers. Ascentage co-founder Edward Ming Guo is the company’s largest shareholder with a 17.5% post-IPO stake, according to the prospectus. Takeda owns 7.1% of the company. In the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2024, Ascentage reported 876.8 million Chinese yuan (about $124.9 million) in revenue, most of which came from the Takeda option deal. At the end of the third quarter of 2024, Ascentage reported its cash position was $210.8 million. With the IPO proceeds, Ascentage plans to spend $30 million to $40 million for clinical development of olverembatinib in the U.S. and other countries, and to expand the drug’s label to earlier lines of CML treatment among other indications, according to the prospectus. Another $50 million to $60 million is budgeted for the regulatory approval and potential commercial launch in China of lisaftoclax as a treatment for relapsed or refractory CLL. The company also plans to run clinical trials that could support approvals of this drug in the U.S. and other countries. Between $10 million and $20 is set aside to fund R&D of other drug candidates.

BOSTON--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Bicara Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing transformative bifunctional therapies for patients with solid tumors, today announced the appointments of Mike Powell, Ph.D., and Christopher Bowden, M.D., to the company’s board of directors. Dr. Powell currently serves as executive partner of Omega Funds and will serve as Bicara’s chairman of the board. Dr. Bowden is the former chief medical officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals and current chief medical officer of Remix Therapeutics and will serve as an independent director. “ Mike and Chris are distinguished biopharma industry leaders that have contributed to the approvals of multiple innovative oncology medicines. We are thrilled to welcome them to our board of directors,” said Claire Mazumdar, Ph.D., MBA, chief executive officer of Bicara Therapeutics. “ The combination of Mike’s four decades of pharmaceutical clinical development experience and Chris’ strategic medical and corporate expertise will be critical as we continue to advance ficerafusp alfa (BCA101) into late-stage development for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma as well as other indications.” About Mike Powell, Ph.D. Dr. Mike Powell joined Omega Funds as executive partner in 2021 from Sofinnova Investments, where he served as managing general partner since 1997. Previously, Dr. Powell was Group Leader at Genentech from 1990 to 1997, where his focus was on drug delivery, CMC, and formulation of both small molecule and protein drug entities. Before this, he served as the director of product development for Cytel Corp, an immunology biotech company. Prior to this, he was senior scientist and project team leader at Syntex Research (Roche). Dr. Powell was the first person in the biotech industry to become a fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS). He was previously board president of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, an advisor to the Institute for One World Health, IAVI, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Kansas. Dr. Powell holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Toronto, and a postdoc in bio-organic chemistry at the University of California. About Christopher Bowden, M.D. Dr. Chris Bowden currently serves as the chief medical officer of Remix Therapeutics. Prior to Remix, Dr. Bowden served as a strategic advisor and chief medical officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals from 2014-2022. As chief medical officer at Agios, he oversaw clinical development that led to U.S. approvals for the IDH inhibitors IDHIFA™ and TIBSOVO™ in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), for TIBSOVO™ in cholangiocarcinoma and for PYRUKYND™ for adults with pyruvate kinase deficiency. Prior to joining Agios, Dr. Bowden was vice president of product development in oncology, franchise lead (signaling group) at Genentech, Inc. where he was responsible for the successful development of several novel targeted oncology medicines, including Zelboraf™ and Tarceva™. Dr. Bowden received his M.D. from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia after which he completed his internal medicine training at Roger Williams Medical Center and the Providence VA Medical Center, Rhode Island. He conducted his medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute Medicine Branch. Dr. Bowden is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. About Ficerafusp Alfa (BCA101) Ficerafusp alfa is a bifunctional antibody designed to inhibit the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and disable transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) directly at the tumor site. This approach is designed with the intent to allow ficerafusp alfa to inhibit tumor proliferation, while restoring the cytolytic activity of the local immune cells. Ficerafusp alfa is currently being evaluated in a dose expansion phase of an open-label Phase 1/1b study in combination with pembrolizumab in HPV-negative patients with R/M HNSCC, advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (SqNSCLC), or squamous cancer of the anal canal (SCAC) and as a monotherapy for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). About Bicara Therapeutics Bicara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing bifunctional therapies engineered to combine the precision of well validated, tumor-targeting antibodies with the power of tumor microenvironment modulators. The Company’s bifunctional antibodies are designed to deliver an immunomodulatory payload directly to the tumor microenvironment to ramp up immune cell activity, offering the potential for synergistic therapeutic impact at the site of the tumor. Bicara’s lead product candidate, ficerafusp alfa, is a EGFR/TGF-β-trap bifunctional antibody in clinical development for multiple tumor types. For more information, please visit www.bicara.com or follow us on LinkedIn or X.