Latest news with #ComancheBiopharma
Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Gates Foundation money fills gap in women's health
McKinsey Advertisement That's why the Gates Foundation's announcement of $2.5 billion in investments through 2030 for women's health — Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up The investment will fund research and development in maternal and obstetrical care to make pregnancy and childbirth safer, gynecological care and menstrual health, contraception, nutrition, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. The Gates Foundation has a history of investing in areas that don't draw market-based or government funding. Its goal is to turn basic scientific research into cost-effective products that can be sold worldwide, particularly in lower-income countries. For example, at the STAT event, foundation founder Bill Gates showed off a plastic drape attached to a container with measuring marks that can be placed on the table where a woman is giving birth and used to measure blood loss. Postpartum hemorrhage can kill birthing women, and Gates said the $1 item can help health care providers identify dangerous blood loss, so treatment can be given sooner. Advertisement On the other end of the technological spectrum, Gates highlighted an artificial intelligence-powered ultrasound, currently being tested by Philips, that can send information to a health worker's cellphone about whether a pregnancy is high-risk. The goal is to make it easier for midwives in areas without ultrasound technicians to take an ultrasound, interpret the results, and send women with high-risk pregnancies for more advanced care. The good news for Massachusetts is the state's strong biotech ecosystem means some ideas funded by the Gates Foundation will be researched and developed here. For example, Giovanni Traverso, director of the Laboratory for Translational Engineering at MIT, received money to develop a transdermal patch that could provide women with long-term contraception. The lab is also developing probiotic medications to treat abnormalities in the vaginal microbiome, a condition associated with risks including painful infection and premature birth. Traverso said the foundation invests in high-risk, early-stage research that few commercial investors will back, then focuses on developing cost-effective products. 'The foundation again and again has been willing to take risks recognizing many things we do don't work. But if a few do, they could have a big impact,' Traverso said. Scott Johnson, CEO of Concord-based Comanche Biopharma, is trying to develop the first drug to treat preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy). If the drug is approved, Johnson said the Gates Foundation will help distribute it in low-income countries. The foundation gave Comanche Biopharma money to improve the chemical manufacturing process and package the drug in a prefilled syringe, making it cheaper and simpler to deliver. Advertisement Johnson hopes after initial trials in wealthier countries, Gates Foundation funding and expertise will help the company do clinical trials in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, with an eye toward getting the drug approved and distributed in areas where sales wouldn't otherwise be economically viable. Other Massachusetts grantees include researchers at Beth Israel Lahey Health, Mass General Brigham, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard University, Fenway Health, Tufts University, and UMass Chan Medical School. Rasa Izadnegahdar, director of maternal, newborn, child nutrition and health for the Gates Foundation, said the goal is to catalyze private-sector investment in an area of health research with global applicability that has never had sustained funding. 'It's a high return-on-investment area,' Izadnegahdar said. 'That could be economic, societal, or from the lens of survival, including in low- and middle-income country settings. When you invest in improving the life of a woman, you're substantially increasing the opportunity of survival for her children, and it has an impact on the community.' Especially as the federal government cuts support for scientific research, Gates's investment highlights the good that can be done by private philanthropy filling the gap. Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us
Associated Press
30-01-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Comanche Biopharma Awarded Innovation Passport Designation by the U.K. Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) Steering Group for CBP-4888, an Investigational siRNA Drug Candidate for the Treatment of sFlt1-mediated Preterm Preeclampsia
ILAP aims to accelerate time to market, facilitating faster patient access to clinically important and promising medicines being developed to address significant health needs Preeclampsia is a serious obstetric complication that threatens the life of both mother and baby, often resulting in preterm delivery Globally, preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality and can result in lifelong consequences A novel investigational drug candidate, CBP-4888 leverages the precise targeting ability of siRNAs to downregulate sFlt1 in the placenta, a key pathogenic mediator of preeclampsia CONCORD, Mass., Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comanche Biopharma Corp. today announced that the U.K. Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) Steering Group has awarded an Innovation Passport to CBP-4888, Comanche Biopharma's investigational drug candidate for the treatment of sFlt1-mediated preterm preeclampsia. ILAP comprises the Innovation Passport designation, a target development profile, and a toolkit to support the design, development and approvals process. The pathway also features enhanced input and interactions with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and its partner agencies. 'We are grateful to the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) Steering Committee for awarding the Innovation Passport designation to CBP-4888. We look forward to collaborating with U.K. regulators to help accelerate the development of this important therapeutic for pregnant patients,' said Allison August, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Comanche Biopharma. 'For hundreds of years, the treatment of preeclampsia has remained unchanged. The awarding of this designation amplifies the significant unmet need that preeclampsia presents for pregnant women and their babies in the U.K. and globally and signals the innovation our siRNA therapeutic candidate could potentially deliver.' Preeclampsia is a serious obstetric complication that threatens the life of both mother and baby, often resulting in preterm delivery. Globally, preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality and can result in lifelong consequences. Overexpression of the protein sFlt1 is regarded as a key pathogenic mediator of preeclampsia. When produced in excess by the placenta, sFlt1 is toxic, severely damaging the mother's blood vessels and impairing the growth of new ones. This overproduction of sFlt1 and subsequent vascular damage result in the common maternal signs and symptoms of preeclampsia and in fetal growth restriction. CBP-4888 is designed to achieve sufficient uptake by the placenta to selectively downregulate the disease-causing overexpression of the sFlt-1 protein in patients with sFlt-1-mediated preterm preeclampsia. CBP-4888 is being investigated for the potential to ameliorate the acute, potentially life-threatening maternal symptoms of preterm preeclampsia. This, in turn, may enable the safe prolongation of pregnancy and continued fetal maturation, thereby minimizing the short- and long-term mortality and morbidity associated with prematurity. About ILAP The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) launched ILAP at the start of 2021 in order to accelerate the development and access to promising medicines in the early stages of development. The pathway features enhanced input and interactions with MHRA and its partner agencies, including the All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC). Other benefits of ILAP include access to a range of development tools, such as the potential for a 150-day accelerated Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) assessment, rolling review and continuous benefit risk assessment. More information about ILAP can be found here. About Preeclampsia Preeclampsia is a prevalent and serious pregnancy complication that affects up to 8% of pregnancies worldwide. It can lead to a range of complications for both the mother and the baby, including multi-organ damage, seizures and premature birth. Globally, there are an estimated 76,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 fetal and newborn deaths annually due to this pregnancy complication. While preeclampsia can develop in any pregnancy, it disproportionately affects black individuals and those living in low resource settings. The signs and symptoms of preeclampsia can vary and include high blood pressure, acute kidney injury, swelling of the hands and face, severe headaches, vision changes and abdominal pain. Currently, premature delivery of the baby is the only available option for stopping the progression of preeclampsia. About Comanche Biopharma Corp. Comanche Biopharma is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company working to make every pregnancy around the world safer through innovative and equitable solutions. We are currently developing CBP-4888, an innovative siRNA therapeutic candidate that, if approved, would be the world's first treatment for preeclampsia, an obstetric complication globally responsible for a significant burden of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. At Comanche, we are committed to the ethical representation of people of all colors and economic status globally in our clinical development programs. We plan to prioritize ensuring access to our solutions for those who need them most. Visit us at Media Contact: Liz Melone
