Startups
Ouro is planning to leverage T cell engagers to deplete B cells and “reset” the immune system to treat immune-mediated diseases.
The company’s lead asset is a potentially first-in-class oral GLP-1 receptor agonist that has the potential to be dosed weekly, which according to CEO Khurem Farooq can help improve accessibility and affordability.
A week after it released positive early-stage data, Metsera has partnered with Amneal Pharmaceuticals in an effort to secure the development and supply of its investigational weight loss therapy MET-097.
Under an in-license agreement worth up to $294 million, Roivant Sciences gains exclusive worldwide rights from Bayer to develop and commercialize mosliciguat, a potential first-in-class inhaled soluble guanylate cyclase activator.
Candid Therapeutics, which is repositioning two antibodies for autoimmune indications, will be led by Ken Song who was previously CEO of RayzeBio and oversaw its $4.1 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb.
Quotient Therapeutics’ platform targets somatic mutations, which the startup contends can help identify a broader scope of genes potentially associated with disease phenotypes. Wednesday’s agreement is part of an existing partnership between Pfizer and Flagship Pioneering.
Navigator Medicine is looking to push its lead asset NAV-240 targeting immune-mediated diseases through to clinical studies “in the coming months,” which the startup in-licensed from a South Korean biotech for $20 million upfront.
Well-financed startup Tome is winding down operations just as two new companies, Borealis Biosciences and GondolaBio, are launching. Meanwhile, in the midst of already tense relations with China, House lawmakers raise the alarm about U.S. companies working with the country’s military on trials.
Despite the promise of its technology and funding from big backers, Tome Biosciences is “operating at reduced capacity” and weighing its “strategic options” as the Massachusetts-based company faces an uncertain future.
With the help of third-party investors, the new venture will focus on three genetic and rare diseases: tuberous sclerosis complex, erythropoietic protoporphyria and alpha-A1 antitrypsin deficiency.
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