Radius Health, Inc.

RICHMOND, Calif.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--BioAge Labs, Inc. (“BioAge”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic product candidates for metabolic diseases by targeting the biology of human aging, today announced the appointment of Jean-Pierre Garnier, PhD, as Chair of the company’s Board of Directors. Garnier will succeed current Board Chair James Healy, MD, PhD, managing partner of Sofinnova Investments, who will remain on the Board. “ We are excited to welcome JP to BioAge’s Board of Directors as Chair,” said Kristen Fortney, PhD, CEO and co-founder of BioAge Labs. “ His extensive experience in leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies through critical growth phases will be invaluable as we progress our lead compound, azelaprag, through clinical development for obesity and advance our pipeline of metabolic aging therapies. I would also like to express our deep gratitude to Jim, whose leadership as Chair has been pivotal during a crucial period of growth for BioAge. We are pleased that he will continue to contribute his expertise in clinical development and drug strategy as a key member of our Board.” “ It has been a privilege to serve as Chair of BioAge’s Board of Directors and lay the foundation for the company’s transformation as a late-stage clinical company. I look forward to continuing on BioAge’s Board as a Director while lending my full support to JP in his new role,” Healy said. “ JP brings exceptional operational and leadership experience as BioAge advances its pipeline for metabolic diseases.” Garnier served as the Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from 2000 to 2008, overseeing the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. Prior to GSK, Garnier held executive positions at SmithKline Beecham and Schering-Plough. Garnier has extensive board experience, serving as Chairman of the Board of Actelion (acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2017 for $30 billion) and as non-executive Chairman at Alzheon (2015-2018), Idorsia (2017-2020), and Carmat (2018-2022). He has also served on the Board of Directors of United Technology (1997-2020), Renault SA (2009-2016), and Radius Health (2015-2022). Garnier is currently Chairman of the Board of Cellectis SA and member of the Board of Directors of Carrier Global Corporation. He holds a PhD in pharmacology from Louis Pasteur University and an MBA from Stanford University. He is a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Officier de la Légion d’Honneur of France. “ This is a transformative era for the treatment of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, and I’m excited to support BioAge as it leads the way with innovative approaches that could reshape the future of patient care,” said Garnier. “ I look forward to working alongside Kristen and BioAge’s talented leadership team to fully realize the potential of azelaprag and advance the company’s earlier stage pipeline to address diseases that limit healthspan for large patient populations.” About BioAge Labs, Inc. BioAge is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic product candidates for metabolic diseases, such as obesity, by targeting the biology of human aging. BioAge’s lead product candidate, azelaprag, is an orally available small molecule agonist of APJ that was observed to promote metabolism and prevent muscle atrophy on bed rest in a Phase 1b clinical trial. In mid-2024, BioAge initiated a Phase 2 trial of azelaprag in combination with tirzepatide for the treatment of obesity in older adults. Azelaprag has potential as an oral regimen to amplify weight loss and improve body composition in patients on obesity therapy with incretin drugs. BioAge is also developing orally available small molecule brain penetrant NLRP3 inhibitors for the treatment of diseases driven by neuroinflammation. BioAge’s preclinical programs, based on novel insights from the company’s discovery platform built on human longevity data, address key pathways in metabolic aging.

THURSDAY, Aug. 15, 2024 -- Racial and ethnic differences exist in fracture rates and risk among women, according to a study published online Aug. 15 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research . Nicole C. Wright, Ph.D., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues used data from the Women’s Health Initiative (1998 to 2022) to assess contemporary fracture trends by race and ethnicity (clinical, hip, and major osteoporotic fractures [MOFs]). The researchers found that during a median follow-up of 19.4 years, 44.2 percent of the 160,824 women experienced any clinical fracture, including 36,278 MOFs and 8,962 hip fractures. Black, Pacific Islander, Asian, and multiracial women had a significantly lower risk for any clinical and MOFs compared with White women, while only Black and Asian women had a significantly lower hip fracture risk. Among Asian women, Filipina women had a 24 percent lower risk for any clinical fracture versus Japanese women. Compared with non-Hispanic women, Hispanic women had a significantly lower risk for any clinical, hip, and MOF fractures, with no differences in fracture risk observed within Hispanic origin groups. "This study is the first to provide novel fracture incidence data in many racial, ethnic, and origin groups that have been understudied in the U.S. and highlights the need to understand the factors that underlie these differences," lead author Jane Cauley, Dr. P.H., from the University of Pittsburgh, said in a statement. "The difference in fracture rates in detailed Asian and Hispanic groups highlight the difficulty in applying a single race/ethnic adjustment to fracture risk calculators." One author disclosed financial ties to Radius Pharma and argenX.

Lower levels of oestrogen during menopause increases the risk of developing osteoporosis. Credit: Miss Ty via Shutterstock. Theramex’s Eladynos (abaloparatide) will be available for menopausal women with osteoporosis in England within three months, following positive guidance from The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The drug, which is marketed by Radius Health as Tymlos in the US, increases bone density by stimulating the cells that make new bone and this reduces the risk of fracture. It is an injection that comes as a pre-filled pen that people can self-administer at home once a day. Women’s health company Thermax acquired Eladynos through a March 2023 exclusive licensing agreement with Radius. Under the terms of the deal, Theramex can commercialise Eladynos in the European Economic Area, the UK, Australia, and Brazil. In April 2017, the injection was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, and in December 2022 for the treatment of men with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture. Menopause can accelerate bone loss and increase the risk of osteoporosis due to the decline in oestrogen levels, which are crucial for maintaining bone density. The usual treatment for osteoporosis after menopause in people with a very high risk of fracture includes UCB and Amgen ’s Evenity (romosozumab) or Eli Lilly’s Forsteo (teriparatide). See Also: Eli Lilly boosts sales forecast by $3bn as diabetes and weight loss drugs propel revenue Recursion and Exscientia merge to form drug discovery company Monoclonal antibody Evenity works by inhibiting sclerostin to increase bone formation and simultaneously reducing bone resorption. It was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2020. In April 2022, NICE reversed its previous decision from November 2021 and recommended Evenity, after its earlier concerns about cost were addressed. The drug pulled in $1.16m in 2023, as per Amgen’s financials. Despite the recommendation for Evenity, some patients cannot tolerate it due to side effects such as osteonecrosis, and they stop taking the drug. Forsteo works in a similar but not identical manner to Eladynos by acting as a synthetic form of parathyroid hormone (PTH), stimulating bone formation by activating osteoblasts. Eladynos, a synthetic peptide that is a PTH-related peptide analogue, offers a different binding profile and may provide greater efficacy according to some studies. NICE has said that Eladynos could benefit more than 14,000 people in England. According to GlobalData, the osteoporosis market is forecast to generate $17.9bn across the seven major markets (US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Japan) by 2033. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology. In the announcement accompanying the recommendation, NICE’s chief medical officer Jonathan Benger said: “Our focus is on enabling access to care that improves quality of life while offering value to the taxpayer. Abaloparatide has been found by our independent committee to be clinically and cost-effective at reducing the risk of fracture, giving people more independence and therefore a better quality of life.”