Biotech
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News roundupErasca restructures; Novartis moves to complete MorphoSys deal
The cancer biotech is laying off one-fifth of its staff and scrapping three drugs. Elsewhere, Novartis secured sufficient support for its $3 billion buyout and Bristol Myers won a new CAR-T approval.
By BioPharma Dive staff • May 17, 2024 -
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Obesity drugsInvestors put $400M into biotech licensing obesity drugs from China
The biotech, tentatively named Hercules CM Newco, has rights to three incretin drugs discovered by Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, two of which are in clinical testing.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 16, 2024 -
Explore the Trendlineâž”
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (2020). "Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2" [Micrograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
TrendlineCOVID-19 vaccines
The urgency of the pandemic’s first two years is giving way to questions of how to sustain public health responses and prepare for what could come next. In the U.S., health officials are urging booster shots and preparing for private sector distribution of vaccines.
By BioPharma Dive staff -
Permission granted by Biogen
ALS drug developmentBiogen, Ionis shelve ALS drug following study failure
While results indicated the drug works as intended, it didn’t have enough of an effect on a protein that’s become integral to many ALS research programs.
By Jacob Bell • May 16, 2024 -
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Bolt Biotherapeutics to lay off staff, abandon lead ADC candidate
The company will cut its workforce by half and shuffle leadership as it discontinues testing of the drug trastuzumab imbotolimod.
By Delilah Alvarado • May 15, 2024 -
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Blackstone-backed biotech launches with up to $300M for immune drug
Uniquity Bio emerged from stealth mode ready to begin Phase 2 trials of an antibody targeting the protein TSLP in asthma and COPD.
By Kristin Jensen • May 15, 2024 -
Daniel Tadevosyan via Getty Images
News roundup
Novo Holdings buys stake in life sciences tools company; BioMarin lays off 170
The parent of Novo Nordisk is acquiring 60% ownership of Single Use Support, which specializes in handling of advanced therapies. Elsewhere, BioMarin and gene therapy developer Tenaya are cutting jobs.
By Ned Pagliarulo • May 15, 2024 -
Permission granted by FogPharma
FogPharma, Artbio join forces to design a different radiopharma drug
The biotechs aim to marry FogPharma’s polypeptide science with Artbio’s lead-based radiopharmaceutical technology in one of the industry’s hottest fields.
By Ned Pagliarulo • May 14, 2024 -
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Sands Capital raises $555M fund amid upturn in biotech ‘crossover’ investing
The firm, one of the sector’s more active crossover investors, closed the fund during a surge in the financings that bridge biotechs to the public markets.
By Ben Fidler • May 14, 2024 -
Courtesy of Sanofi
Sanofi gambles $80M on Fulcrum’s muscular dystrophy drug
The deal gives the pharma partial rights to a medicine GSK once developed for heart disease but could soon become the first therapy for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
By Jonathan Gardner • May 13, 2024 -
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Emerging biotechNewVale, an unorthodox investment firm, sets out to support biotech’s ‘infrastructure’
The firm, which closed a $167 million fund, aims to fill a “crucial gap” by growing the companies startups turn to for outsourced services, founder Todd Holmes told BioPharma Dive.
By Ben Fidler • May 13, 2024 -
Permission granted by Ajax Therapeutics
Emerging biotechAjax, aiming for a better JAK drug, raises $95M to begin first tests
Goldman Sachs and Eli Lilly are among those backing the startup, which claims its prospect could be more potent than the myelofibrosis therapies that have come to market in recent years.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 13, 2024 -
Daniel Tadevosyan via Getty Images
News roundup
iTeos shares jump on TIGIT update; Acelyrin swaps CEOs
Interim data surpassed expectations, iTeos said. Bluebird bio, meanwhile, gave a fuller accounting of launch progress for its gene therapies Lygenia, Zynteglo and Skysona.
By BioPharma Dive staff • May 10, 2024 -
Permission granted by Maze Therapeutics
Maze lands new partner for Pompe drug, after Sanofi pact came apart
An alliance with Shionogi involves similar terms as a deal Sanofi canceled in response to an unusual challenge from the Federal Trade Commission.
By Ben Fidler • May 10, 2024 -
Courtesy of Novo Nordisk
Obesity drugsNovo taps another Flagship startup in search for next obesity drugs
The deal with Metaphore Biotechnologies is the third from a Flagship alliance meant to boost the Danish drugmaker’s pipeline of weight loss medicines.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 9, 2024 -
Seth Babin/BioPharma Dive
Gene editingVerve moves forward with backup base editing therapy
Weeks after a safety setback derailed its lead candidate, the company has treated the first participant in a trial of its heart disease treatment Verve-102.
By Ned Pagliarulo • May 7, 2024 -
Love Employee via Getty Images
Zenas, with new funding, aims dual-targeting antibody at lupus and MS
The $200 million round is the latest evidence that surging interest in autoimmune disease cell therapies could expand to include developers of bispecific antibodies.
By Ben Fidler • May 7, 2024 -
Permission granted by Prologue Medicines
Emerging biotechPrologue, Flagship’s newest startup, looks to mine viruses for new drugs
The company is using what it claims is the largest database of viral protein structures to unearth medicines for a range of diseases, said CEO and Flagship origination partner Lovisa Afzelius.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 7, 2024 -
Permission granted by Bluebird bio
Bluebird, Vertex prep for first commercial use of sickle cell gene therapies
One patient has started the treatment process for Bluebird's Lyfgenia, while five others have done the same for Vertex's Casgevy.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Updated May 7, 2024 -
Permission granted by Qiagen
Sponsored by QiagenFree pathway analysis: How much do you really save?
Can free bioinformatics tools get the job done?
May 6, 2024 -
Permission granted by Nasdaq, Inc.
CG follows big IPO with new results for bladder cancer drug
Newly disclosed Phase 3 results presented Friday match findings the biotech disclosed last year, while offering a more comprehensive look at how its drug stacks up to rival therapies.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 3, 2024 -
Carsten Koall via Getty Images
Activist investor pushes case against Novavax leadership
Shah Capital, which owns a 7.5% stake in Novavax, called for shareholders to vote against re-electing three of the vaccine maker’s director nominees.
By Meagan Parrish • May 3, 2024 -
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Moderna ends gene editing alliance with Metagenomi
Metagenomi said the companies’ decision to part ways followed a “strategic prioritization” undertaken by Moderna, which has made several investments in gene editing research in recent years.
By Kristin Jensen • May 2, 2024 -
Permission granted by Delphia Therapeutics
Emerging biotechDelphia starts up with $67M to make a new type of cancer drug
The startup is developing medicines designed to overstress cellular pathways to the point tumor cells die, an approach the biotech calls “activation lethality.”
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 2, 2024 -
National Cancer Institute, NIH
BridgeBio spinout launches with $200M for KRAS cancer drugs
The company, BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, has one drug in the clinic and hopes to soon advance two other candidates.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Updated May 2, 2024 -
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Reunion raises over $100M to build a better psychedelic drug
The funding will help Reunion pay for a mid-stage study testing its most advanced medicine — essentially a synthetic version of the hallucinogenic psilocin — in women with postpartum depression.
By Jacob Bell • May 2, 2024
