(AOF) – TME Pharma NV, a biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer by targeting the tumor microenvironment (MET), today announces that it has officially changed its corporate name from “Noxxon Pharma NV” to “TME Pharma NV”.
Aram Mangasarian, CEO of TME Pharma, commented: “Over the past few years, our company has grown into a biotechnology company specializing in oncology and dedicated to developing approaches to modify the tumor microenvironment (MET), an area where our technology has shown strong evidence of effectiveness. The name change to TME Pharma is a testament to this successful transformation for our team and partners. Our strategy will be to prioritize and support opportunities that are most likely to be approved quickly as possible. With the recent presentation of the exceptional results of our program in glioblastoma, we intend to focus on the development of our main asset NOX-A12, in order to reach a major milestone in this indication as a priority as soon as possible.”
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An inevitable race for new blockbusters
The patent for Merck’s star product, the cancer drug Keytruda, which accounts for more than 35% of its sales, expires in 2028. Despite the loss, since 2019, of the patents for its three star products (Avastin, Herceptine, Rituxan) Roche was able to renew its portfolio by bringing new molecules to market. However, the discovery and launch of new drugs are increasingly expensive. AstraZeneca spends about $6 billion a year on R&D in a pharmaceutical industry where the life of a patent only lasts ten to fifteen years. This leads laboratories to withdraw from certain activities. Thus J&J, Pfizer, GSK and, no doubt, Novartis soon prefer to refocus on specialty drugs and abandon any ancillary activity.