The 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.
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.
Infinitopes, 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.
The 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?
With 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.
The French preclinical-stage biotech ErVimmune closed a €17 million series A round to bring its lead candidate cancer vaccine into the clinic.
GSK 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.
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.
AgomAb 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.
Last 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.
Qiagen
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