Today, a brief rundown of news involving NewLimit and Eli Lilly, as well as updates from Praxis Precision Medicines and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals that you may have missed.
Longevity startup NewLimit has raised $435 million in a Series C round, one of the largest so far this year for a biotechnology firm. The company is using “epigenetic reprogramming” to make treatments it says help with “reversing cellular age,” according to a Tuesday announcement. Its Series C round was led by Founders Fund, and included Thrive Capital, Greenoaks, Quiet Capital and Eli Lilly Ventures, among others. The startup will launch the first clinical trial sometime next year for what it described as a liver reprogramming therapy. — Gwendolyn Wu
Eli Lilly this week continued an extended streak of dealmaking, announcing on Monday two licensing deals as well as an expanded collaboration to help boost its pipeline across several therapeutic areas. One deal with South Korea-based Hanmi Pharma hands Lilly most rights to an obesity drug that mimics the activity of the gut hormone GLP-2. A second, with China’s Haisco Pharmaceutical Group, involves rights to up to five unspecified programs. The third alliance builds on an existing relationship with Sweden’s Camurus and extends Lilly’s rights to a type of drug delivery technology. The trio of deals includes a total of almost $5 billion in combined potential payouts. — Ben Fidler
An experimental drug from Praxis Precision Medicines failed a late-stage study in a type of epileptic disorder. Praxis' therapy, vormatrigine, didn't meet its main objective in a trial in "focal onset" seizures, which form in a particular area in the brain. The company is now pausing enrollment in a second Phase 3 trial while "reassessing" the program to determine "potential modifications." The setback sank Praxis shares by double digits on Tuesday, and was also seen by some Wall Street analysts as relieving a potential competitive threat to Xenon Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a rival seizure medication. — Ben Fidler
CytomX Therapeutics has expanded an existing partnership with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, announcing Wednesday plans to codevelop more bispecific cancer drugs that are “conditionally-activated” near a tumor. CytomX and Regeneron first linked up in 2022 in a deal worth as much as $2 billion. The broadened alliance doubles the potential payouts to about $4 billion. Regeneron has already handed CytomX $37 million after selecting two drug targets to pursue, and now has an option to pick up to six more. — Ben Fidler
