Get the Daily Brief
Latest Biotech News
Novartis expands oncology ADC payload platform via Myricx acquisition
Novartis agreed to acquire UK biotech Myricx Bio in a deal valued at up to $1.5 billion, paying $1.1 billion upfront plus as much as $400 million in milestones. The transaction is set to close in...
Vertex jumps into commercial rare endocrine medicine with Crinetics deal
Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced plans to acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a $10 billion transaction, lifting Vertex’s commercial endocrinology footprint and adding late-stage pipeline assets....
Neuphoria ends Merck-partnered Phase 2 Alzheimer’s study, leaving CHRNA7 modulator in limbo
Neuphoria Therapeutics terminated its Merck-partnered Phase 2 Alzheimer’s disease study of MK-1167, a move that puts the CHRNA7 modulator program’s future at risk. According to ClinicalTrials.gov,...
AI drug discovery reaches for open-source tooling with Aureka’s Open Drug Discovery Engine
Aureka opened its drug discovery platform as AI biotech continues to move toward more lab-linked systems. The company released Open Drug Discovery Engine (OpenDDE), an open-source, all-atom...
New computational protein-to-text system aims to annotate unknown proteins
Technion and Tel Aviv University researchers unveiled BetaDescribe, an AI system that converts protein sequences into natural-language descriptions. The work—published in the Proceedings of the...
WHO expands Ebola diagnostics with Emergency Use Listing molecular test for Bundibugyo virus
The World Health Organization added a molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo species Ebola virus to its Emergency Use Listing. The first test approved under the pathway is an RT-qPCR assay...
Korea University leads government-backed hantavirus vaccine program using sa-mRNA and next-gen LNPs
Korea University College of Medicine is set to lead a government-supported hantavirus vaccine initiative centered on self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) and a next-generation lipid nanoparticle (LNP)...
Cell-based immunotherapy for allergies: chimeric allergen receptor Tregs suppress birch pollen asthma in mice
Researchers at Lausanne University Hospital, the University of Lausanne, and the Center for Human Immunology Lausanne reported preclinical evidence that chimeric allergen receptor (CAlleR)...
Scribe Therapeutics files for IPO as it advances in vivo gene editing for cardiometabolic disease
Scribe Therapeutics filed for an initial public offering targeting the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “SCTX,” signaling a push to fund expanding genetic medicines for cardiometabolic disorders....
Clinical trial diversity oversight: Republicans urge Trump’s FDA to ensure diverse enrolment
Republican lawmakers urged the Trump administration and the FDA to preserve or strengthen requirements aimed at ensuring clinical trials enroll diverse populations. The push comes as clinical...
Vertex–Crinetics megadeal
Vertex Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a $10 billion deal, adding a newly commercial endocrinology asset and additional late-stage pipeline programs. The purchase...
Novartis expands ADC payload portfolio via Myricx Bio
Novartis will pay $1.1 billion upfront to acquire Myricx Bio, betting on a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate payload class designed to tackle resistance mechanisms that can limit existing...
United Therapeutics buys Thymmune for thymic cell regeneration
United Therapeutics agreed to acquire Thymmune Therapeutics in a $300 million regenerative medicine deal focused on thymic cell therapies to restore T-cell function. The transaction includes $140...
FDA/clinical policy: 340B reimbursement cuts return under CMS
CMS proposed a second attempt to reduce Medicare outpatient reimbursement for drugs purchased through the 340B program, aiming to better align rates with what hospitals actually pay. The agency’s...
Biotech funding: financings snapshot
New biopharma and med-tech financings were reported for the week of July 6, with several companies raising capital for development and commercialization activities. The slate includes Abivax,...
Regulatory/leadership at the FDA’s CDER
The FDA elevated an experienced metabolic drug reviewer into a top CDER leadership role, naming Lisa Yanoff as acting deputy director. The appointment comes as the agency’s Center for Drug...
Digital diagnostics: FDA clears Visby at-home multiplex PCR
Visby Medical received 510(k) clearance for an at-home multiplex PCR test for flu and COVID-19, expanding consumer-access molecular testing beyond its earlier home STI assay authorization. The...
Biopharma research: BetaDescribe translates protein sequences into function text
Technion and Tel Aviv University researchers introduced BetaDescribe, an AI system that converts protein sequences into natural-language descriptions intended to reveal the functions of previously...
Preclinical immunology: CAR-like regulatory T cells suppress allergic asthma
Researchers developed chimeric allergen receptor Treg cells (CAlleR Tregs) that suppress birch pollen–driven allergic asthma in mice, according to a study in the Journal of Experimental...
AI in drug discovery tooling: Aureka opens OpenDDE engine
Aureka launched Open Drug Discovery Engine (OpenDDE), releasing an open-source, all-atom biomolecular foundation model aimed at AI-driven therapeutic discovery and structure-based reasoning over...