Exclusive European data from BIO-Europe’s inaugural C-suite survey, shared with European Biotechnology, shows a sector expecting better funding conditions while struggling with investor caution. Among 69 executives at European-headquartered companies, 84% identify investor risk aversion as biotech investment’s biggest constraint, even as 70% expect their company’s access to capital to improve over the next year.
Another bad day at Zealand: Roche-partnered drug disappoints on blood sugar
Latest NewsZealand Pharma shares fell about 4% in Thursday trading after new Phase 2 results for its Roche-partnered obesity drug petrelintide showed encouraging weight loss but a modest improvement in blood sugar control. It’s the second positive trial readout that has failed to reassure investors in the course of a week.
Roche taps Chinese biotech Defand in reported $1B deal
Latest NewsRoche has partnered with China’s Defand Therapeutics to discover molecular glue degraders for cancer and immune diseases, in a research and licensing agreement reportedly worth close to $1 billion (€895 million).
Argenx halts Phase 3 Sjögren’s trial, sending shares tumbling
Latest NewsArgenx is stopping its Phase 3 UNITY trial of efgartigimod in Sjögren’s disease after an interim analysis showed the study could not meet its primary endpoint. Shares fell about 18% in Euronext Brussels trading following the announcement, overshadowing positive Phase 2 results for its recently acquired celiac disease drug FB102.
Rivercell raises $25M to build an AI virtual cell
Latest NewsParis-based Rivercell has raised $25 million (about €22 million) in seed funding to generate experimental data and build AI models that predict how human cells respond to drugs and genetic changes.
Report: Europe’s biotech leaders see recovery, but investors remain the obstacle
Latest NewsExclusive European data from BIO-Europe’s inaugural C-suite survey, shared with European Biotechnology, shows a sector expecting better funding conditions while struggling with investor caution. Among 69 executives at European-headquartered companies, 84% identify investor risk aversion as biotech investment’s biggest constraint, even as 70% expect their company’s access to capital to improve over the next year.
Forbion raises record-breaking €2.3B to back 30 biotechs
Latest NewsDutch life sciences investor Forbion has raised €2.3 billion across two new funds to finance about 30 biotech companies, setting a fundraising record for the firm.
Sensible secures $47M to rethink mRNA manufacturing
Latest NewsOxford-based Sensible Biotechnologies has secured a $47 million (€42 million) financing package to scale a platform that makes mRNA in living cells, targeting manufacturing costs and unwanted immune activation that can limit its use in treatments beyond vaccines.
RougeTx launches with $58M to tackle rare bleeding disorder
Latest NewsDutch biotech RougeTx has launched with a $58 million (€52 million) series A to take its lead drug RTX-001 toward first-in-human testing in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The round was co-led by BioGeneration Ventures, Angelini Ventures and Kurma Partners, with the European Investment Bank (EIB) participating through Angelini’s Aurea co-investment vehicle.
Genmab and AbbVie’s bispecific antibody halves progression-or-death risk in lymphoma trial
Latest NewsGenmab and AbbVie’s bispecific antibody epcoritamab, added to R-CHOP chemoimmunotherapy, cut the risk of progression or death by 51% in a Phase 3 trial in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
“AI biotech” is no longer a useful category for investors
Background, Latest NewsAI has transformed drug discovery, but the “AI biotech” label has become increasingly misleading. Kurma Partners proposes an investment framework that distinguishes three fundamentally different models — each building a different asset, creating value in a different way and requiring a different investment lens.