Alzheimer’s disease means memory loss for those affected. Beyond this, however, it is above all relatives and care staff who are impacted when the loss of cognitive abilities is accompanied by symptoms such as agitation, aggression, anxiety and depression, making home care impossible. This aspect of the disease is now gaining greater visibility through a major second financing round from EQT LifeScience, Gimv and Andera Partners with Exciva from Heidelberg.
A changing playing field: Observations of the 2026 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference from a European perspective
Latest NewsThe Westin St. Francis lobby buzzed with its familiar January energy, a peculiar blend of jet lag, ambition, and the faint desperation of biotech CEOs clutching coffee cups like lifelines. This year’s JP Morgan Healthcare Conference arrived with a question hanging in the San Francisco fog: after years of what one executive called “nuclear winter,” were the capital markets finally thawing?
Takeover rumours at Qiagen fuel share price surge
Latest NewsWith the departure of the current CEO of diagnostics company Qiagen NV (Venlo, Netherlands/Hilden, Germany) and before a new chief executive has been identified and presented, there appears to be activity at senior management level, according to Bloomberg, around whether a sale of the company or the admission of a major strategic partner could be an alternative. These rumours have sent the share price sharply higher.
French biotech ErVimmune raises €17M to advance off-the-shelf cancer vaccine targeting HERVs
Latest NewsThe French preclinical-stage biotech ErVimmune closed a €17 million series A round to bring its lead candidate cancer vaccine into the clinic.
GSK strengthens food allergy ambitions with $2.2bn RAPT Therapeutics acquisition
Latest NewsGSK has agreed to acquire California-based RAPT Therapeutics in a deal valued at $2.2 billion (€ 1.88 billion), expanding its respiratory, immunology and inflammation portfolio with a late-stage food allergy candidate. The transaction gives GSK global rights to ozureprubart, a long-acting anti-IgE monoclonal antibody now in phase IIb clinical development.
Heidelberg-based Exciva secures €51M to tackle agitation in Alzheimer’s care
Latest NewsAlzheimer’s disease means memory loss for those affected. Beyond this, however, it is above all relatives and care staff who are impacted when the loss of cognitive abilities is accompanied by symptoms such as agitation, aggression, anxiety and depression, making home care impossible. This aspect of the disease is now gaining greater visibility through a major second financing round from EQT LifeScience, Gimv and Andera Partners with Exciva from Heidelberg.
AgomAb files for U.S. IPO as fibrosis-focused pipeline moves deeper into the clinic
Latest NewsAgomAb Therapeutics has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S., looking to tap public markets to fund the next stage of development for its pipeline in fibrotic and inflammatory diseases. The Antwerp-based biotech said in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to list its shares on Nasdaq under the ticker AGMB.
Genmab and AbbVie’s epcoritamab fails in phase 3 lymphoma study
Latest NewsLast week, Genmab and AbbVie hit a setback with epcoritamab, after the bispecific T-cell-engaging antibody failed to deliver a survival benefit in a phase 3 study in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The EPCORE DLBCL-1 trial missed its primary endpoint of overall survival, the partners said on Friday. While epcoritamab did slow disease progression and performed better across several secondary measures, the survival miss overshadows the readout.
Genethon licenses core AB-1009 technology to AskBio after IND clearance
Latest NewsFrench gene therapy research institute Genethon announced it has signed an exclusive global license with AskBio that allows the company to use Genethon-patented technology incorporated in AB-1009, an experimental gene therapy for Pompe disease.
EMA and FDA join forces: Aligned principles on AI use in drug development
Latest NewsThe European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have together compiled ten principles for good artificial intelligence (AI) practice in drug development.
With a €6.26M round, QLi5 doubles down on proteasome-based ADC payloads
Latest NewsQLi5 Therapeutics has completed a €6.26 million capital increase led by its Korean co-founder, Qurient, which has also increased its voting stake in the German biotech. The funding will be used to advance QLi5’s proteasome inhibitor(PI)-based antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) payload platform, an approach the company is presenting as a next step beyond today’s dominant ADC payload classes.