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Merck KGaA expands RNAi pipeline with Silence Therapeutics buyout
Merck KGaA agreed to buy UK-based Silence Therapeutics for $1.3 billion to gain control of its siRNA program for rare disease. The deal targets divesiran, which delivered positive Phase 2 results...
China’s moves to restrict foreign biotech acquisitions
China has moved to restrict foreign acquisitions of biotech companies, tightening the rules for cross-border ownership in a sector that has increasingly attracted strategic interest from...
Oral immunotherapy in ulcerative colitis heats up as Gilead reports Phase 2 win
Gilead reported mid-stage results for emvistegrast, an oral therapy for ulcerative colitis, showing symptom elimination in a Phase 2 dose-finding trial. The company said a 200 mg daily regimen for...
Single-dose antibody clears SIV reservoirs in infant macaques
A single dose of a CCR5/CD3 bispecific antibody depleted the SIV reservoir in infant macaques and showed durable aviraemia after antiretroviral therapy was stopped. The reported effect suggests...
Estuary Biotherapeutics raises $103M for kidney-targeted AAV gene therapy in ADPKD
Estuary Biotherapeutics launched with $103 million to develop locally delivered AAV gene therapies aimed at autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The financing includes a $93...
New guidance for measles and mumps strains shows potential cancer cytotoxic synergy
Experimental work suggests vaccine-strain measles and mumps viruses can act synergistically against colorectal cancer cells. The study reports in vitro killing of HT-29 colorectal cancer cells and...
Zilurgisertib (Atebrioz) wins FDA approval as first ALK2 inhibitor for FOP
FDA approved zilurgisertib (Atebrioz) as the first ALK2 inhibitor for patients with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) aged 12 and older. The approval was based on Phase 2 PROGRESS study...
Clinical recurrence dynamics in multiply recurrent intracranial germ cell tumors
A retrospective study of 49 patients with multiply recurrent intracranial germ cell tumors found that relapse intervals shorten with each successive recurrence. The analysis also reported worse...
Roche’s $15B ADC partnership with Hansoh signals scale-up in China oncology alliances
Roche agreed a broad ADC collaboration with Hansoh that includes $400 million upfront and up to $15 billion in biobucks. The deal underscores Roche’s continued push to expand its antibody-drug...
Stem cell exosomes deliver a microRNA that halts kidney scarring in preclinical models
Researchers reported that stem cell exosomes carrying a specific microRNA can halt kidney scarring in experimental models. The study frames chronic kidney disease (CKD) fibrosis as a target where...
Genetic medicines dealmaking: Merck KGaA buys Silence Therapeutics for siRNA pipeline expansion
Merck KGaA agreed to acquire Silence Therapeutics in a deal valued at $1.3 billion, aiming to build out its genetic-medicines presence in rare and specialty diseases. The acquisition expands Merck...
Inflammatory bowel disease: AbbVie advances Skyrizi combo with ABBV-466 win in Crohn’s
AbbVie reported that its Skyrizi-based combination therapy ABBV-466 outperformed Skyrizi alone in a mid-stage Crohn’s disease trial. The company positioned the result as evidence that its IL-23...
Infectious disease & diagnostics: AI pipeline audits tuberculosis resistance signals
A dual-pathway deep learning system from Algiers reported tuberculosis drug-resistance prediction above 95% accuracy while auditing sequencing quality and recovering both known and novel...
Cancer immunotherapy expansion: Marengo’s invikafusp alfa earns expanded FDA fast track for TMB-H solid tumors
The FDA expanded fast track designation for invikafusp alfa (STAR0602), positioning the asset across TMB-H solid tumors that have progressed after prior therapy, including checkpoint...
CAR-T safety profiling: CAR-HEMATOTOX score forecasts blood-cell crashes
A retrospective study of 96 patients identified the CAR-HEMATOTOX risk score as a predictor of severe neutropenia and thrombocytopenia after CAR-T therapy. Researchers reported that patients in...
Oncology translational progress: Nouscom raises $135M to advance lead cancer interception vaccine
Nouscom raised $135 million in an oversubscribed Series D to support NOUS-209, its off-the-shelf neoantigen-based cancer immunotherapy aimed at intercepting cancer before it advances. The...
Diagnostics & access: Transplant metagenomic sequencing flags hidden donor-derived transmission
Matched donor-recipient metagenomic sequencing outperformed culture methods in a liver-transplant setting, uncovering possible donor-derived pathogen transmission in most infected recipients. The...
Regenerative and chronic wound biology: Autophagy framed as master switch for wound healing
A new review argues that autophagy coordinates multiple stages of skin wound healing and could be leveraged through drugs, phytochemicals, and engineered biomaterials to treat chronic and diabetic...
Diabetes and metabolic risk: Finerenone slows kidney decline in non-diabetic CKD real-world cohort
A 24-month real-world cohort study of 121 patients with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease found that starting finerenone was associated with reduced albuminuria and proteinuria and a significant...
RNA & drug delivery innovation: ScionxBio links Sanofi candidates to long-acting RNA screening platform
Sanofi entered a partnership with ScionxBio to screen Sanofi’s mRNA candidates using ScionxBio’s platform designed to produce long-acting RNA formulations. The deal marks ScionxBio’s first...