For decades, epilepsy treatment has focused on stopping seizures, but for the third of patients whose seizures resist existing medicines, that approach is not enough. As genetics, neural circuits, and cell therapies reshape the field, epilepsy is being redefined as many diseases with deeper biological roots.
UK biotech Apollo Therapeutics has reported early Phase 1 data showing that one dose of its experimental rhinovirus vaccine, APL-10456, induced immune responses recognizing all three rhinovirus species in healthy adults.
German biotech Immatics is raising $150 million (€128.6 million) through an underwritten offering to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of a pivotal readout for its lead cancer cell therapy, anzu-cel.
Heidelberg-based Revier Therapeutics has raised €6 million in seed financing to develop selective class IIa histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors for cardiometabolic diseases.
Roche’s Genentech unit has licensed global rights outside South Korea to HM17321, Hanmi Pharm’s Phase 1 obesity candidate. The deal gives Hanmi $190 million (€163 million) upfront and could be worth up to $2.3 billion (€2.0 billion), including development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Hanmi is also eligible for tiered royalties on future sales.
Sweden’s Hansa Biopharma has confidentially filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a potential initial public offering of American depositary shares.
Stockholm-based Pixelgen Technologies has raised $15.5 million in an oversubscribed Series B round to expand commercialization of its Proxiome platform. The Swedish company is targeting a gap in single-cell analysis: mapping how proteins are organized on the surface of individual cells, rather than simply measuring their abundance.
A Phase III win for Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine has reignited investor enthusiasm for mRNA — and put BioNTech back in the spotlight. But the data are more important than the stock rally: for the first time, a personalized mRNA cancer therapy has produced positive Phase III data in a major indication.
AstraZeneca has discontinued a pivotal Phase III trial of its dual checkpoint inhibitor volrustomig in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), after an independent committee concluded that the study was unlikely to meet its primary endpoints. The setback comes as the company faces growing pressure to deliver new oncology products.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has cleared Merck KGaA’s planned acquisition of U.S. life sciences tools company Bio-Techne, removing one of the key regulatory hurdles to the €9.9 billion deal.
Pixelgen
Moderna
AstraZeneca plc
Merck KGaA