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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...
Merck buys Cidara: $9.2B deal 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. CD388 is in Phase III (ANCHOR) as a...
Korro collapses: Data miss triggers 81% slide, cuts and pivot
Korro Bio’s shares plunged 81% after Phase I/IIa REWRITE data for KRRO‑110 fell short of projections in alpha‑1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The company disclosed protein increases below the...
Sofinnova raises €650M: New flagship fund backs preclinical life sciences
Paris‑based Sofinnova Partners closed €650 million ($750 million) for its Capital XI fund to back preclinical biotech and a slice of medtech. The firm has already deployed capital into five...
Iambic raises $100M: AI‑discovered oncology candidate moves toward trials
Iambic secured $100 million to advance clinical trials of cancer drugs discovered using its AI platform, following presentation of breast cancer data at the European Society for Medical Oncology...
Point‑of‑care AAV8 antibody test: Tackles a key gene‑therapy bottleneck
Researchers developed a point‑of‑care (POC) test using Chembio’s Dual Path Platform to detect AAV8 binding antibodies in plasma, serum and whole blood. The assay enables rapid screening for...
AAV variants boost vascular delivery: Two studies report improved transduction
Teams publishing in Gene Therapy reported engineered AAV variants that substantially improve transduction of human vascular endothelial cells. Stamataki et al. screened and identified capsid...
Microglial CARs... Enhance amyloid clearance in preclinical models
Researchers engineered microglia with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to selectively phagocytose Aβ1‑42, reporting increased uptake of pathogenic amyloid species in vitro and in vivo models. The...
Condensing CAR‑T potency: IDR strategy boosts activity against low‑antigen tumors
A Nature Chemical Biology study showed that intracellular delivery of multivalent binding agents using intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) promotes condensate formation that enhances CAR‑T...
AAV microdystrophin therapy update: Elevidys signals gene‑therapy momentum
Regulatory and clinical history around AAV microdystrophin therapies continues to shape the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) landscape after the FDA granted accelerated approval to...
Prime‑editing inversion method: PIE enables chromosome‑scale DNA flips
Researchers introduced Prime‑Editing‑Based Inversion with Enhanced Performance (PIE), a technique that enables efficient, large‑scale inversion of genomic DNA in mammalian cells. PIE improves on...