Today, a brief rundown of news involving Insmed and Recursion Pharmaceuticals, as well as updates from Odyssey Therapeutics, Gilead Sciences and Novo Nordisk that you may have missed.
Insmed said Tuesday its experimental drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension succeeded in a Phase 2 trial , significantly improving blood flow in the lungs of study volunteers and enabling them to walk further on a timed test when compared to a placebo. Insmed will immediately consult with the Food and Drug Administration about the design of two planned Phase 3 trials expected to begin in late 2025 and early 2026. The data exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, with Leerink Partners analyst Joseph Schwartz calling Insmed’s drug “clearly differentiating” from United Therapeutics’ rival Tyvaso. Insmed shares rose 29% in trading Tuesday, swelling its market value past $16 billion. — Jonathan Gardner
AI drug discovery specialist Recursion Pharmaceuticals is laying off about a fifth of its workforce in connection with a cost-cutting initiative announced last month. The company disclosed the job cuts in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, noting that it expects to incur about $11 million in associated expenses and should now have enough cash to operate into late 2027. Recursion jettisoned three of its most advanced drug prospects in the restructuring, reflecting a plan to focus on what it says are its most impactful programs. The company had over 800 employees at the end of 2024. — Ben Fidler
Odyssey Therapeutics has withdrawn its planned initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the filing, president and CEO Gary Glick wrote that Odyssey determined “it is not in the best interests of the company” to go public “at this time.” The startup, which is working on targeted medicines for autoimmune conditions like eczema and lupus, has been in the IPO queue since January. Only six biotech IPOs have priced in 2025, and five of them occurred before the middle of February, according to BioPharma Dive data. — Gwendolyn Wu
Novo Nordisk will collaborate with Deep Apple Therapeutics to develop new cardiometabolic disease drugs. Under the terms of a deal announced Wednesday, Deep Apple will discover and optimize potential drug candidates against an unnamed GPCR target, and then hand them off to Novo when they’re ready for preclinical testing. Deep Apple stands to receive as much as $812 million in payouts, though the company didn’t disclose how much it’s getting in upfront cash. Venture firm Apple Tree Partners launched Deep Apple at the end of 2023 with $52 million in funding. — Gwendolyn Wu
The FDA paused testing of a pair of HIV medicines from Gilead Sciences after decreases in certain white blood cell counts were observed in some study participants. The drugs, code-named GS-1720 and GS-4182, are part of a weekly oral regimen Gilead has in several clinical trials. The FDA hold applies to two Phase 2/3 studies and three Phase 1 tests, Gilead said Tuesday. Company shares fell about 2%, as investors eyed the combination regimen as a "key HIV treatment life cycle initiative" that could support revenues once Biktarvy loses patent protection, wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams. — Ben Fidler
