BioNTech’s BNT113, combined with Keytruda, failed to significantly improve progression-free survival in a Phase 2/3 head and neck cancer trial. The study will continue to assess whether the combination helps patients live longer.
Zealand Pharma will pay Generate Biomedicines $30 million (€27 million) upfront to discover protein drugs for obesity and other metabolic diseases, broadening its pipeline beyond peptides and small molecules.
Beyond the main headlines, European biotech kept moving this week. Lundbeck and Neurosterix advanced neurological drug programs, Rewind secured funding for myelin repair, and Beactica selected a cancer degrader. Plus, new findings from iOnctura and Coave. Here’s your weekly catch-up.
Undecimal Bio has launched with $18 million (about €16 million) in seed funding to develop delivery molecules that carry gene-silencing medicines beyond the liver, initially targeting kidney and vascular tissues.
Roche has licensed worldwide rights to Rona Therapeutics’ experimental ALK7-targeting RNA interference therapy for obesity and metabolic diseases, offering up to $100 million (about €89 million) in upfront and near-term payments, plus up to $1.06 billion (about €0.95 billion) in milestone payments.
Paris-based Enodia Therapeutics is entering a partnership with big pharma Pfizer to discover and develop small molecules for targeted protein degradation at the point of synthesis with a deal that could potentially bring more than $500 million (€446 million) to the biotech company.
Swedish biotech Elicera Therapeutics reported complete metabolic responses in eight of 12 patients treated with its experimental CAR-T therapy ELC-301 in the Phase 1 portion of its CARMA trial. Six remained in complete response at their latest assessment.
Finnish biotech Desentum has raised €28 million in an oversubscribed equity round to advance three allergy immunotherapy programs, with Phase 2 results for its lead birch pollen candidate expected before year-end.
Over the past few years, Belgium’s argenx has become a biotech force to be reckoned with, driven by the success of its autoimmune drug Vyvgart (efgartigimod alfa) in diseases such as generalised myasthenia gravis (gMG) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). We caught up with CEO Karen Massey to discuss how she plans to build on this success after joining argenx in March 2023 and taking up the role of CEO at the start of this year.
Italy’s Newron Pharmaceuticals has disclosed that the FDA kept U.S. enrollment in a Phase 3 trial of its schizophrenia drug evenamide on hold, citing five deaths across all the drug’s clinical studies. The company will ask the agency to lift the hold by screening patients for hidden heart-rhythm disorders, including with genetic tests.