German-Israeli Neurim Pharmaceuticals announced top line efficacy results of its insomnia drug PedPRM in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Drug encapsulated in erythrocytes. @ Erytech Pharma SA

French cancer drug encapsulation specialist Erytech Pharma SA wants to raise US$100m (€85m) in an IPO at NASDAQ and a subsequent private placement outside Northern America to finance pivotal trials of eryaspase in ALL and pancreatic cancer. 

Gene therapy with Adeno-associated viruses. © NIH

As first gene therapy ever, AMT-130 has been granted FDA Orphan Drug status in Huntington’s Disease.

Robotic cell culture system CellPROi. © Shibuya Corp.

Promethera Biosciences and Shibuya collaborate to establish a breakthrough cell therapy manufacturing platform.

Immatics headquarters in Tuebingen. © Immatics Biotechnologies

Cancer immunotherapy specialist Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH (Tuebingen, Germany) raised US$58m in a Series E financing round led by German investors dievini Hopp BioTech Holding and AT Impf as well as Wellington Partners and new investor Amgen.

Mode of action of NuCana's ProTides compared to those of gemcitabine (above). © NuCana plc

Scotch cancer corp NuCana plc was up 3% (to US$18.61) after closing an initial public offering on Friday led by Citigroup, Jefferies and Cowen and co-managed by William Blair.

Up to recently, it was not possible for academic researchers to visualise the spatial distribution of intratumoural heterogeneity within solid tumours. An international research team has now reported a way to track changes with whole-tissue biospy phenotyping.

Mode of action of caplacizumab. © Ablynx

Belgian nanobody developer Ablynx NV‘s nanobody caplacizumab has met relevant endpoints in the pivotal Hercules Phase III study in patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP),  paving the way to market authorisation in Europe and the US.

Kathryn J. Gregory

A newly-developed, fast, and cost-effective dipstick test sensitively and specifically identified Zika virus and all four dengue virus subtypes without any detectable cross-reactivity. 

The ASEBIO Investor Day took place in the Barcelona Science Parc. © ASEBIO
The Spanish biotech sector is growing. This attracts more and more international investors. End of September ASEBIO organised the first edition of an Investor Day.