Portuguese drugmaker BIAL has discontinued development of BIA 28-6156, also known as pariceract, after a Phase IIb study failed to show that the oral therapy could slow progression in patients with GBA-associated Parkinson’s disease. The readout marks a setback for one of the more advanced attempts to turn Parkinson’s genetics into a disease-modifying therapy.
London-based Engitix Ltd has entered a strategic research collaboration and option agreement with GSK to discover and validate new therapeutic targets for liver fibrosis regression, adding another pharma partnership to its extracellular matrix-driven drug discovery platform.
Swiss pharma giant Roche has signed a global licensing and collaboration agreement with US biotech Nurix Therapeutics to co-develop and co-commercialise bexobrutideg, an oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader being developed for B-cell malignancies and potentially for immunology and neurology indications.
Swiss ADC specialist ADC Therapeutics has reported a statistically positive Phase III result for Zynlonta in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, but a higher rate of fatal adverse events in the experimental arm has overshadowed the efficacy readout and triggered a sharp investor backlash.
The announcements came almost simultaneously and send a clear signal to policymakers and the industry: both US pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly and German-based Boehringer Ingelheim are calling planned investments in Germany into question, citing the country’s healthcare policy framework.
Barcelona-based Ona Therapeutics has raised US$86.6m in a Series B financing to advance a new generation of antibody-drug conjugates into clinical development.
Warsaw-based AI biology company Ingenix has raised €13m in a seed-extension financing round led by Sofinnova Partners, with participation from Inovo VC and OTB VC.
London-based IMU Biosciences has expanded its Series A financing to more than US$53m (£40m/€46m) in an oversubscribed round, as the company looks to scale its immune-profiling platform and move further into clinical applications.
Parisian Abivax shared positive topline results for its Phase 3 trial in ulcerative colitis. Its investigational oral, first-in-class miR-124 enhancer, dubbed obefazimod, met all primary and secondary endpoints, yet investors reacted negatively.
A restart from within: Molecular Health is becoming Lucera. After years of shifting corporate fortunes, a substantial part of Heidelberg-based Molecular Health is continuing in a new form. An investor consortium has acquired the company’s pharma technology business and relaunched it as Lucera GmbH. Dr Friedrich von Bohlen remains at the helm, while Dr Stephan Brock, the mind behind the Dataome data engine, also stays on board as CTO.
Engitix
Elnur Amikishiyev-stock.adobe.com