Gilead’s novel immune checkpoint inhibitor candidate, magrolimab, has been placed on a partial clinical hold by the US Food and Drug Administration in acute myeloid leukemia, adding to a spate of recent setbacks for the therapy that are chipping away at investor confidence.

The two companies have partnered on VBI-2601 since 2018, and Brii is now taking global rights to that program as well as licensing rights to VBI’s hepatitis B vaccine.

After AstraZeneca walked away from a oncolytic virus vaccine partnership in May, French biotech Transgene was in sore need of a new direction. Enter new CEO Alessandro Riva, a man determined to deliver a proof of concept for the company.

COVID-19 has highlighted the need for potent, safe and effective antiviral therapies for infectious diseases and now one well-known Chinese researcher is tackling hepatitis B and D though a homegrown drug discovery approach. He talks to Scrip in this wide-ranging audio interview.