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New genomic assays may spare melanoma patients sentinel‑node surgery
Two independent multicenter efforts reported that genomic profiling can identify melanoma patients at very low risk of lymph‑node metastasis and could reduce the need for sentinel lymph node...
Engineered CASTs and improved editing tools push precision gene insertion forward
Researchers published advances in CRISPR‑associated transposons (CASTs) that improve targeted DNA integration activity and retain high on‑site specificity through high‑throughput screening and...
Moderna’s CMV shot fails Phase 3 — development halted
Moderna reported that its cytomegalovirus (CMV) mRNA vaccine missed primary efficacy goals in a Phase 3 study and the company will stop most development of the program. The firm said efficacy was...
Arcturus inhaled mRNA shows no lung improvement — stock tumbles
Arcturus Therapeutics disclosed interim results from a Phase 2 study of ARCT-032, an inhaled mRNA therapy for Class I cystic fibrosis (CF), showing no meaningful improvement in forced expiratory...
Alector’s GSK antibody flunks Phase 3 — workforce halved
Alector reported that a GSK-partnered antibody failed to slow disease progression in a Phase 3 dementia trial and the company will end work on the asset. Management announced a strategic...
Takeda inks $11.4B pact with Innovent — $1.2B upfront for oncology rights
Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to a large licensing and co-development deal with China’s Innovent Biologics covering up to three immuno-oncology and ADC candidates, committing $1.2 billion upfront...
Electra closes $183M Series C — advances rare‑disease immunology programs
Electra Therapeutics raised $183 million in a Series C to fund a pivotal trial and expand its pipeline of immunology programs. The financing, led by Nextech and EQT Life Sciences and including...
10x Genomics sues Illumina over single‑cell and spatial patents
10x Genomics filed patent infringement suits against Illumina in Delaware federal court, alleging the sequencing giant violated core single‑cell and spatial transcriptomics patents. The complaints...
Long‑read pipeline 'LongTrack' follows donor strains after FMT — high‑resolution engraftment
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai introduced LongTrack, a long‑read sequencing and assembly pipeline that tracks microbial strains after fecal microbiota transplantation...
Engineered CASTs boost precision gene insertion — high‑throughput screen finds activity gains
St. Jude researchers published an engineering study of CRISPR‑associated transposons (CASTs) that advances programmable, RNA‑guided DNA integration. The team built a dual genetic screen to measure...
Epigenetic multi‑gene editing and in‑vivo CAR‑T moves — next wave in cell therapy
Two advances signal fast‑moving innovation in cell therapy: a Nature Biotechnology paper described an epigenetic reprogramming platform that enables safe, simultaneous multi‑gene modulation in...
Genomic tests may spare melanoma lymph‑node biopsies — multicenter validation
Two independent studies reported progress on genomic assays that predict sentinel lymph node metastasis in melanoma and could reduce the need for diagnostic nodal surgery. Mayo Clinic and...
Moderna’s CMV vaccine flops: company halts broad development
Moderna announced that mRNA-1647, its cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine candidate, failed to meet efficacy in a pivotal Phase 3 trial and the company will stop most development of the program. The...
Alector Phase 3 failure... workforce slashed amid program pullback
Alector disclosed that an antibody co‑developed with GSK failed to meet the trial’s clinical endpoints in a late‑stage dementia study, and the company will stop work on the asset. The negative...
Galapagos abandons cell therapy plan: 365 jobs at risk
Galapagos said it could not find a buyer for its cell therapy business and will wind down the unit, closing multiple global sites and eliminating roughly 365 positions. The company said nonbinding...
Takeda bets big on Innovent: $1.2B up front in IO/ADC pact
Takeda agreed to codevelop and commercialize up to three immuno‑oncology and ADC candidates from Innovent, paying $1.2 billion up front and preserving rights to large milestone payouts. The...
Sanofi’s buyout drug posts Phase 2 win... rare disease opportunity
Sanofi reported that efdoralprin alfa—an experimental recombinant protein acquired in its Inhibrx buyout—met primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase 2 study for alpha‑1 antitrypsin...
Alkermes moves into sleep market with Avadel takeover
Alkermes agreed to acquire Avadel Pharmaceuticals for up to $2.1 billion, gaining a marketed daytime sleepiness therapy and settling patent litigation tied to the asset. The deal accelerates...
Electra closes $183M Series C to fund pivotal rare‑disease work
Electra Therapeutics raised $183 million in a Series C to advance its lead candidate ELA026 into pivotal testing for secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and to push a second program...
Arcturus’ inhaled mRNA shows mixed Phase 2 data... efficacy shortfall
Arcturus Therapeutics released interim Phase 2 data for its inhaled mRNA candidate ARCT‑032 in Class I cystic fibrosis patients that showed no meaningful improvement in FEV1 at Day 28 and prompted...