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Merck to buy Cidara for $9.2B — Adds long‑acting influenza antiviral
Merck agreed to acquire Cidara Therapeutics for about $9.2 billion to add CD388, a long‑acting neuraminidase inhibitor–Fc conjugate, to its antiviral portfolio. Cidara’s Phase IIb NAVIGATE results...
Nuvalent posts ALK response rates — Eyes fast FDA filing
Nuvalent reported Phase 1/2 data for neladalkib showing tumor shrinkage in a significant subset of ALK‑positive lung cancer patients whose disease progressed after prior ALK inhibitors. The...
Stem cell transplant restores primate hand function — Major translational step
Researchers published in Nature Biotechnology that transplanting human embryonic stem cell–derived spinal cord neural stem cells (H9‑scNSCs) restored forelimb function in rhesus monkeys with...
CRISPR edit of NRF2: reverses chemotherapy resistance in lung cancer
Scientists at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute reported a CRISPR‑based approach that targets NRF2 to overcome chemotherapy resistance in lung cancer models. The lead sentence of the study...
Solve pulls $120M — Moves two ADCs toward clinic
Solve Therapeutics raised $120 million to advance two antibody‑drug conjugates (ADCs), and the company said the financing will support ongoing preclinical and early clinical development. Backed by...
Artios pockets $115M — Fuels DNA‑damage repair oncology programs
Artios Pharma closed a $115 million financing to accelerate clinical programs targeting DNA damage response pathways, building on the company’s strategy of exploiting tumor DNA‑repair dependencies...
Lilly taps ABL Bio: $40M upfront, $2.6B total
Eli Lilly signed a deal with Seoul‑based ABL Bio that includes $40 million upfront and up to $2.56 billion in milestone payments to access South Korean assets and platforms. The agreement grants...
LexicMap: Searches world’s microbial genomes in minutes
Nature Biotechnology published LexicMap, an algorithm that can search millions of bacterial and archaeal genomes for genes and mutations in minutes—addressing the scaling problem as genomic...
Foli‑seq captures the fecal exfoliome — Noninvasive gut immune monitoring
Researchers introduced exfoliome sequencing (Foli‑seq), a method to profile host mRNAs from shed intestinal cells in feces to track gut epithelial and immune dynamics noninvasively. Published in...
Rapid AAV8 antibody test — New AAV variants expand vascular targeting
Two gene‑therapy enabling advances appeared: a point‑of‑care test for AAV8‑binding antibodies built on Chembio’s Dual Path Platform, and discovery of AAV variants that markedly improve...
Merck to acquire Cidara for $9.2B — Adds Phase III influenza candidate
Merck agreed to buy Cidara Therapeutics for roughly $9.2 billion to add CD388, Cidara’s long‑acting neuraminidase inhibitor–Fc conjugate, to its antiviral portfolio. The drug is in a Phase III...
Sofinnova closes €650M fund — Pumps capital into clinic‑ready drugmakers
Sofinnova Partners closed a €650 million flagship fund (Capital XI) to back early‑stage biotech and medtech companies, with about 20%–30% earmarked for devices. The firm said it has already...
Korro stock craters 81% — Data miss forces layoffs and R&D pivot
Korro Bio’s shares plunged 81% after Phase I/IIa REWRITE data missed projections for its RNA editing oligonucleotide KRRO‑110 in alpha‑1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The trial showed functional...
Iambic secures $100M — Funds trials for AI‑designed oncology drugs
Iambic closed a $100 million financing to advance clinical programs discovered using its AI drug‑design platform. The financing follows data presented for a breast‑cancer candidate at ESMO and is...
Point‑of‑care AAV8 antibody test debuts — Speeds gene‑therapy screening
Researchers unveiled a point‑of‑care test that detects AAV8 binding antibodies in plasma, serum and whole blood using Chembio’s Dual Path Platform. The assay aims to identify patients with...
AAV variants unlock vascular delivery — Two teams report improved endothelial transduction
Two independent studies reported engineered AAV capsids with enhanced transduction of human vascular endothelial cells, improving gene‑delivery efficiency in models of human vessels. The work,...
SPVN06 shows promise as mutation‑independent retinal gene therapy
Researchers disclosed SPVN06, a mutation‑agnostic gene therapy approach for rod‑cone dystrophies that aims to preserve photoreceptors across genetic subtypes. Preclinical and early safety data...
TIL therapy advances — FDA nod meets manufacturing and access bottlenecks
The tumor‑infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) field has gained momentum with recent regulatory approvals, but experts say operational, manufacturing and access challenges persist. The review highlights...
IDR‑mediated condensation boosts CAR‑T potency against low‑antigen tumors
A Nature Chemical Biology study showed intracellular delivery of multivalent Intrinsically Disordered Regions (IDRs) induces condensate formation that enhances CAR‑T cytotoxicity against...
Intranasal nanogel therapeutic vaccine prevents HPV‑driven cervical tumors in preclinical models
Chiba University researchers reported a cationic nanogel (cCHP) intranasal vaccine delivering HPV16 E7 antigen with cyclic‑di‑AMP adjuvant that prevented cervical tumor development in mice and...