Funding this week went mostly to companies with sophisticated tech platforms. Financing rounds will support platforms for tumor-targeting antibodies, genome-scale nucleic and acid imaging.
Aslan partners with Johns Hopkins and Duke, Editas joins forces with Immatics, Yumanity (soon to be Kineta, Inc.) teams with Janssen, Serotiny & Janssen Biotech and Ginkgo and Novo Nordisk.
The combination of Opdivo plus Yervoy in addition to chemotherapy demonstrated additional benefits in patient populations who usually have poor prognoses.
The results showed that insulin icodec is as non-inferior to Sanofi’s insulin glargine, Lantus, potentially bringing another major competitor into the insulin space.
Most money moves happened in Europe this week, including a government-backed award for Parkinson’s disease research and seed funding for an RNA platform.
Several new biotech and biopharma companies are sharing their strengths to develop new treatments for high-need diseases diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Pharma giant Merck announced it is expanding in both area and headcount with a new Cambridge, MA office. The company’s plan is to add 160,000 square feet and 100 new employees.
ZYESAMI, (aviptadil), being assessed by NRx Pharmaceuticals, failed a review conducted by the Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB), with the board recommending that arm of the trial cease.
San Francisco-based Terremoto Biosciences launched with $75 million in Series A financing from OrbiMed and Third Rock Ventures as it develops highly targeted, small-molecule medicines.
Private investors, governmental institutions and longtime life sciences investors provided funding to develop therapies for cancers, dermatological problems and acute ischemic strokes.
Biohaven Pharma’s NDA for its nasal spray zavegepant was accepted by the FDA, while Phase III results for its drug troriluzole to treat spinocerebellar ataxia were disappointing.
BridgeBio Pharma and its affiliate Phoenix Tissue Repair announced positive data from their Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB).
Zealand Pharma shared positive top-line results for its second Phase III clinical trial of its congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) drug, dasiglucagon, in pediatric patients.
