Get the Daily Brief
Latest Biotech News
BMS buys Orbital for $1.5B—push into in vivo cell therapy
Bristol Myers Squibb agreed to acquire Orbital Therapeutics for roughly $1.5 billion to secure an in vivo cell therapy platform targeting autoimmune diseases. Orbital’s approach aims to deliver...
Tvardi’s STAT3 program fails in Phase II—stock collapses
Tvardi Therapeutics’ Phase II study of its oral STAT3 inhibitor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) failed to meet safety and efficacy endpoints and suffered high dropout rates, prompting an...
Astellas’ zolbetuximab misses Phase II in pancreatic cancer
Astellas reported that zolbetuximab (Vyloy), a CLDN18.2‑targeting monoclonal antibody, did not meet the primary overall survival endpoint in the Gleam Phase II trial for advanced pancreatic...
MetaGraph: ‘Google for DNA’ debuts—petabase search for sequencing data
Researchers unveiled MetaGraph, a search engine designed to index and query petabases of biological sequencing data, enabling fast retrieval of DNA, RNA and protein patterns from massive public...
Novo Nordisk raises MASH stake: Agrees to buy Akero for up-to-$5.2B
Novo Nordisk agreed to acquire Akero Therapeutics in a deal valued at up to $5.2 billion to secure efruxifermin, a Phase III FGF21 analogue for metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatohepatitis...
BMS goes big on in vivo cell therapy – $1.5B Orbital deal
Bristol Myers Squibb agreed to acquire Orbital Therapeutics for about $1.5 billion to secure an in vivo cell therapy platform targeting autoimmune disease. BMS said the purchase brings an in‑house...
Kailera taps $600M: Funds to fast‑track Zepbound rival into Phase 3
Kailera Therapeutics raised $600 million in a Series B led by a Bain‑led syndicate to advance its lead obesity program into Phase 3 by year‑end. The financing—one of the largest private biotech...
Lila Sciences closes $350M Series A — Nvidia joins
Lila Sciences closed a $350 million Series A that brings Nvidia and other investors onto its cap table to fund development of systems that link AI models to physical measurement and sensing. The...
MyHeritage moves to whole‑genome sequencing: Ultima and Gene by Gene to run tests
Consumer genetics firm MyHeritage announced it will adopt whole‑genome sequencing (WGS) for its DNA test and partner with Gene by Gene for processing using Ultima Genomics’ UG100 platform. The...
South Korea taps PacBio HiFi for national pangenome—>1,000 genomes planned
South Korea selected Pacific Biosciences’ HiFi long‑read sequencing technology as the primary platform for its national pangenome reference project, aiming to generate more than 1,000...
Tempus AI wins $60M ARPA‑H cancer contract for biomarker program
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Tempus AI a $60 million contract under ARPA‑H to provide testing and contract research services for a project that uses biomarkers to...
FDA delays Denali’s Hunter syndrome review by three months
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended review of Denali Therapeutics’ biologics license application for tividenofusp (tivi), a transferrin‑receptor‑engineered enzyme replacement therapy...
Tvardi shares plunge after Phase II failure in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Tvardi Therapeutics’ stock plunged after its Phase II study of oral STAT3 inhibitor TTI‑101 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) missed safety and efficacy goals and suffered high dropout rates....
MetaGraph: A search engine for petabases of sequencing data — Nature report
MetaGraph, described in Nature, launched as a search engine designed to index and query petabases of raw sequencing reads across public repositories like the Sequence Read Archive. The platform...
Novo Nordisk raises MASH bet – Acquires Akero, faces plant compliance headwind
Novo Nordisk announced a planned acquisition of Akero Therapeutics to secure efruxifermin (EFX), an FGF21 analogue showing fibrosis regression in late-stage MASH studies. The deal terms announced...
Bristol Myers buys Orbital for $1.5B – Push into in vivo cell therapy
Bristol Myers Squibb completed a $1.5 billion acquisition of Orbital Therapeutics to add an in vivo cell therapy program aimed at autoimmune disease. The deal positions BMS alongside other large...
Excellergy launches with $70M – New effector‑cell strategy for allergy heads to clinic
Excellergy Inc. emerged from stealth with a $70 million Series A to advance effector cell response inhibitors (ECRIs), a new class designed to remove IgE from effector cells without triggering...
AI in biotech funds two startups – OutcomesAI $10M; Meta‑Flux $2M seed
Two AI‑driven health startups closed seed rounds this week underscoring investor interest in automation across care and discovery. OutcomesAI raised $10 million to commercialize voice‑based AI...
PacBio to sequence Korean pangenome – HiFi selected for national reference effort
Pacific Biosciences said its HiFi long‑read sequencing platform was chosen as the primary technology for the Korean Pangenome Reference Project, which plans to generate more than 1,000...
Blacksmith lands QIDP and Fast Track for novel LpxC antibiotic
Blacksmith Medicines received FDA Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) and Fast Track designations for FG‑2101, an LpxC inhibitor targeting Gram‑negative pathogens. The regulatory...