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Merck Bets $10B on Verona Pharma’s COPD Drug
Merck & Co. announced a $10 billion acquisition of London-based Verona Pharma, securing the fast-growing inhaled therapy Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)....
FDA Publishes Historic Drug Rejection Letters with Caveats
For the first time, the FDA released over 200 rejection letters sent to drugmakers concerning novel and generic drug applications. This unprecedented transparency initiative, covering decisions...
Renasant Bio Rises with $54M Seed to Target Kidney Disease
Renasant Bio, a Berkeley-based biotech aiming to develop corrector and potentiator medicines for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), has raised $54.5 million in a seed round. The...
Actithera Raises $75M in Radiopharmaceutical Series A Round
Radiopharmaceutical biotech Actithera successfully closed a $75.5 million Series A financing to advance its cancer drug pipeline targeting fibroblast activation protein (FAP). Despite operating as...
Aqtual Secures $31M Series B to Advance Rheumatoid Arthritis Test
Precision medicine startup Aqtual raised $31 million in an oversubscribed Series B round to develop its cell-free DNA-based assay designed to predict patient response to rheumatoid arthritis...
AI, Gene Editing Merge to Accelerate Drug Development
Recent discussions highlight the growing role of artificial intelligence in transforming traditionally artisanal, trial-and-error drug development into more rapid, cost-effective, and data-driven...
University of Chicago Develops RNA Modification-Based Colorectal Cancer Liquid Biopsy
Researchers at the University of Chicago developed a liquid biopsy diagnostic based on microbiome-derived cell-free RNA modification patterns that can detect colorectal cancer (CRC) with higher...
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Launches GREmLN AI Model to Advance Cancer Immunotherapy
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative unveiled GREmLN, an AI model designed to capture complex gene regulatory networks in single-cell RNA data using graph-based neural networks. Developed by Andrea...
Soleno Therapeutics’ Rare Disease Drug Vykat XR Surges Past Sales Expectations
Soleno Therapeutics reported that sales of its rare disease drug Vykat XR exceeded investor forecasts in its first full quarter on the market. Vykat XR, approved in late March 2025 for...
Merck Strengthens Respiratory Portfolio With $10B Verona Pharma Buyout
Merck has agreed to acquire London-based Verona Pharma for $10 billion, acquiring the FDA-approved inhaled therapy Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This...
Radiopharmaceutical Biotechs Nuclidium and Actithera Secure Major Funding
European radiopharmaceutical startups Nuclidium and Actithera have raised substantial venture capital to advance their novel cancer therapies. Nuclidium secured $99 million in Series B financing...
University of Birmingham Unveils Sugar-Coated Stem Cells for Liver Repair
Researchers at the University of Birmingham, in collaboration with InSphero AG, have developed a technique to coat hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) with natural polysaccharides like hyaluronic acid...
Vanderbilt and Parse Biosciences Launch Single-Cell Atlas for MMR Vaccine Antibodies
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Parse Biosciences have initiated a strategic collaboration to generate the largest single-cell atlas mapping early neutralizing antibody-producing...
Aqtual Raises $31M to Develop Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Response Test
Diagnostics firm Aqtual secured $31 million in funding to enhance development of a predictive test designed to forecast patient responses to rheumatoid arthritis drugs. The company aims to improve...
University of Chicago Develops Microbial RNA-Based Liquid Biopsy for Colorectal Cancer
University of Chicago researchers introduced a novel liquid biopsy assay leveraging modification patterns in microbiome-derived cell-free RNA to predict colorectal cancer with superior sensitivity...
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and IGI Fund Center for Pediatric CRISPR Cures
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) announced a $20 million grant to establish the Center for Pediatric CRISPR Cures. Building on the success of the...
Lilly Gains FDA Approval for Modified Dosing of Alzheimer’s Drug Kisunla
Eli Lilly received FDA approval for a modified dosing regimen of its Alzheimer’s disease drug Kisunla designed to reduce the incidence of brain swelling, a serious adverse effect that has limited...
Novel Single-Cell Multi-Omics Atlas Maps Rice Cell Landscapes
Researchers have generated the first comprehensive single-cell multi-omics atlas of rice, profiling chromatin accessibility and RNA expression across over 116,000 cells from eight tissue types....
Merck's $10 Billion Acquisition Bolsters Respiratory Pipeline
Merck & Co. has agreed to acquire London-based Verona Pharma for approximately $10 billion to enhance its respiratory disease portfolio with Verona’s inhaled COPD therapy, Ohtuvayre...
Radiopharmaceutical Biotechs Secure Major Funding Rounds
European radiopharmaceutical firms Nuclidium and Actithera have raised substantial venture capital rounds to advance their radiopharmaceutical development platforms. Nuclidium, headquartered in...