Four months after the FDA advised it against filing for approval of its lead melanoma vaccine, IO Biotech is preparing for further restructuring. The Copenhagen-based biotech said yesterday that it is exploring strategic alternatives, including a merger, asset sale, business combination, or potential liquidation, and warned that it may need to implement additional workforce reductions and cost-cutting measures as the process unfolds.
For €170 million: Vienna gives AI and life sciences a new home
Latest NewsAt a strategy retreat of the city’s political leadership, the governing parties of the City of Vienna agreed to build a new Life Science Center for Vienna – with the new AI institute AITHYRA as its anchor tenant. To this end, funding of €170 million has been approved, allowing planning to begin.
Genmab pauses enrollment in early ADC trial acquired from ProfoundBio
Latest NewsGenmab has stopped enrolling patients in an early-stage clinical trial for an experimental cancer drug it gained through the acquisition of ProfoundBio in April 2024 for €1.52 billion. This pause underscores a broader reshaping of its oncology strategy.
UK retains Europe’s top biotech VC spot despite 2025 slowdown
Latest NewsUK biotech is heading into 2026 with a growing sense of momentum, even as the sector continues to navigate one of the most selective investment climates in years.
London-based Ellipses licenses another oncologic asset from Chinese pharma
Latest NewsThe U.K. biotech Ellipses Pharma, which develops cancer therapeutics, announced a collaboration and licensing agreement with China-based Innolake Biopharm Co. Ltd to develop a clinical-stage, first-in-class antibody–drug conjugate (ADC), EP0028, for solid tumors.
Board reshuffle at Rentschler
Latest NewsUnexpected changes at the top of Rentschler Biopharma: CEO Benedikt von Braunmühl and the Supervisory Board agreed on a swift separation in January, and COO Christiane Bardroff is also set to leave the biopharma manufacturer based in Laupheim, Baden-Württemberg, in the near future. The message from within the company: stay calm, it won´t knock us off course.
IO Biotech weighs strategic options months after FDA advises against melanoma vaccine filing
Latest NewsFour months after the FDA advised it against filing for approval of its lead melanoma vaccine, IO Biotech is preparing for further restructuring. The Copenhagen-based biotech said yesterday that it is exploring strategic alternatives, including a merger, asset sale, business combination, or potential liquidation, and warned that it may need to implement additional workforce reductions and cost-cutting measures as the process unfolds.
Oxford-based cancer vaccine company Infinitopes closes $35 million seed round
Latest NewsInfinitopes, a U.K. cancer vaccine biotech spun out of Cancer Research U.K. and the University of Oxford, has expanded its seed round to $35.1 million after a second close that added about $15.4 million to existing commitments. The financing was co-led by Octopus Ventures and new investor Amplify Bio. The company says the funds will support its upcoming first-in-human phase 1/2a VISTA trial of its lead therapeutic vaccine, ITOP1, aimed at reducing post-surgical recurrence in oesophageal cancer.
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.