Biotech: Page 66
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ALS drug development
ALS drug approved by FDA in closely watched decision, marking win for patients, developer
The drug, which will be sold as Relyvrio, showed modest benefits in function and survival in testing. It also became the latest test of the FDA's flexibility toward new therapies for neurological disorders.
By Jacob Bell • Updated Sept. 30, 2022 -
Sudo joins a wave of startups taking aim at Bristol Myers’ new skin disease drug
The startup, which emerged Wednesday with $37 million in funding, is the latest company trying to top Bristol Myers’ TYK2 inhibitor Sotyktu.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 28, 2022 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Spencer Platt via Getty Images
TrendlineEmerging biotech
New biotechs continue to emerge despite a challenging market environment that has forced venture firms to build their drug startups more cautiously.
By BioPharma Dive staff -
National Institute on Aging. (2017). "Beta-Amyloid Plaques and Tau in the Brain" [Image]. Retrieved from Flickr.
New Alzheimer's drugsIn surprise result, Alzheimer’s drug from Eisai, Biogen shows benefit in large trial
The companies’ drug lecanemab met all of its goals in the Phase 3 study. The data were a significant finding and provided stronger support for a much-debated hypothesis for treating Alzheimer’s.
By Jonathan Gardner • Updated Sept. 27, 2022 -
Vertex given green light to seek US approval of CRISPR-based therapy
The company and its development partner, CRISPR Therapeutics, will begin submitting a rolling application in November. The blood disease treatment is the first of its kind to near an FDA review.
By Jacob Bell • Sept. 27, 2022 -
Sanofi partners with Scribe to gain gene editing tools for cell therapy work
The California biotech will receive $25 million upfront from Sanofi, which plans to use Scribe’s platform to edit natural killer cells for cancer treatment.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Sept. 27, 2022 -
Q&A
Perlara CEO Ethan Perlstein on reviving a biotech and building a ‘Y Combinator of rare diseases’
The CEO resuscitated the sector’s first public benefit corporation during the pandemic, building an unusually transparent model for biotechs. Now, he’s spun out a startup and is planning for more.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 27, 2022 -
Prime Medicine becomes the next high-profile biotech to test IPO waters
The startup, which launched last year with $315 million in funding and plans to advance a new form of gene editing, is one of the first big venture-backed biotechs in several months to seek an IPO.
By Ben Fidler • Sept. 26, 2022 -
AstraZeneca gives up on Ionis’ RNA drug for heart disease
The British drugmaker decided the medicine, which works similarly to Novartis’s Leqvio, wasn’t potent enough to justify further testing.
By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 23, 2022 -
Servier cuts ties with Allogene, ending complex CAR-T partnership
The French drugmaker terminated a nearly decade-old deal that helped Allogene emerge as the sector's largest "off-the-shelf" cell therapy developer.
By Ben Fidler • Sept. 22, 2022 -
GSK buys into Spero’s comeback plan
The British drugmaker is investing in Spero Therapeutics and acquiring most of the rights to an oral antibiotic the FDA previously rejected, but could approve if it succeeds in a new Phase 3 trial.
By Ben Fidler • Sept. 22, 2022 -
Cell therapy startup Carisma merges with troubled Sesen in bid for Wall Street
The deal results from a strategic review Sesen, formerly known as Eleven Biotherapeutics, undertook after the FDA rejected its top drug last year.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 21, 2022 -
Foundation behind Novo Nordisk to invest $200M in building quantum research ‘powerhouse’
The grant is one of the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s largest and will fund a 12-year research collaboration to construct a quantum computer dedicated to the life sciences.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Sept. 21, 2022 -
Vesalius Therapeutics, a buzzy, Flagship-backed startup, cuts jobs six months after public launch
When the company debuted in March, it announced plans to hire 200 employees over two years. Now, it’s laid off nearly half its staff in a year when the biotech sector has experienced a sharp market downturn.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 19, 2022 -
Theravance, flush with royalty cash, buys shares from GSK
The planned transaction will further unwind the respiratory disease company’s relationship with GSK, which dates back two decades.
By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 19, 2022 -
Alnylam, Regeneron to advance NASH drug after early signs of potential
A gene discovery four years ago led to a partnership between the companies, which plan to start a Phase 2 study later this year after encouraging early data.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Sept. 15, 2022 -
Third Harmonic boosts biotech with sector’s top IPO in four months
The startup’s $185 million initial public offering is the largest for the sector since early May and potentially a sign of renewed investor interest in young biotechs.
By Ben Fidler • Sept. 15, 2022 -
Pharmas back a startup’s plan to make CAR-T cells inside the body
Capstan Therapeutics was formed by pioneering CAR-T and messenger RNA researchers and has secured funding from five large drugmakers.
By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 14, 2022 -
MD Anderson launches new spinout to develop radiopharmaceuticals
The joint venture with Radiopharm Theranostics is pursuing a field of research that’s seen a string of recent deals and investments by large drugmakers.
By Kristin Jensen • Sept. 14, 2022 -
Acelyrin sets hopes high for arthritis drug with $300M fundraise
The well-funded startup is planning Phase 3 trials for a drug it claims could be superior to top-selling medicines from Novartis and others.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 14, 2022 -
Rubius, a once high-flying biotech startup, lays off much of its staff
The biotech will reduce staff by 75% and end development of two drugs, the latest setback for a company that was worth nearly $2 billion when it went public in 2018.
By Christopher Newman • Sept. 13, 2022 -
BioMarin reports cancer case in hemophilia gene therapy trial
The development comes three weeks after Roctavian was approved in Europe and ahead of a planned regulatory submission in the U.S. Drug regulators have not ordered a trial hold, however.
By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 13, 2022 -
Can biotech IPOs bounce back? Third Harmonic to test investor appetite with planned offering
The startup is the first young drugmaker in more than four months to seek an IPO of at least $100 million, a once common occurrence that's become rare following this year's sector-wide correction.
By Ben Fidler • Sept. 13, 2022 -
Nimbus raises $125M to advance rival to Bristol Myers’ new psoriasis drug
The money will help fund development of a TYK2 inhibitor that Nimbus CEO Jeb Keiper claims is more selective than Bristol Myers’ Sotyktu.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 12, 2022 -
Bluebird CFO resigns ahead of gene therapy launch
Jason Cole, who replaced former CFO Gina Consylman in March, is leaving six months later to “pursue new career opportunities,” the company said.
By Delilah Alvarado • Sept. 12, 2022 -
Mitochondrial drugs, with a twist: Pretzel Therapeutics launches with $72.5M in funding
Scientists at Pretzel believe fixing mutated mitochondrial DNA with a mix of small molecule therapies and gene editing could be key to solving a number of hard-to-treat diseases.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Sept. 12, 2022