Entries by Joachim Eeckhout

Addex regains rights to addiction drug candidate from Indivior

Swiss biotech Addex Therapeutics has regained global rights to a GABA-B drug portfolio from Indivior, including a candidate for substance use disorders that has completed studies needed before a Phase 1 trial. Indivior ended the collaboration as it reorganizes R&D ahead of its proposed merger with Supernus Pharmaceuticals.

Bavarian Nordic names new CEO; Abivax and ProQR add key leaders

Every Friday, The Leadership Edit looks at the people taking new roles across European biotech and what their moves may tell us about the companies they join. We’ll follow chief executives, scientific and medical leaders, and other appointments that mark a change in direction or a new stage of growth. For this first edition: a new CEO for Bavarian Nordic, launch preparations at Abivax and an AI push at ProQR.

Roche signs two deals worth about $3.5B in one day

Roche signed two research partnerships on Sept. 24: one with Atavistik Bio to discover drugs for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, and another with Earendil Labs to develop cancer antibodies. Together, the agreements have a potential value of more than $3.47 billion (€3.05 billion). Roche is paying $125 million (€110 million) upfront.

Kasvu raises €30M for depression drug targeting TrkB

Finnish biotech Kasvu Therapeutics has raised €30 million in Series A financing to take its lead depression candidate into clinical development, adding to a growing number of European investments in drugs targeting TrkB, a receptor involved in the brain’s ability to form and adapt neural connections.

ViferaXS secures up to €12M for leukemia trial

German biotech ViferaXS has closed a Series A financing of up to €12 million, including grant funding, to advance its peptide-based cancer immunotherapy into a randomized Phase 2 trial in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Scarlet gets $14M for smart red blood cells

UK biotech Scarlet Therapeutics will lead a consortium developing red blood cells that can sense physiological changes and respond to them under a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program worth up to $14 million (€12.2 million).