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Venter cofounds Diploid Genomics: AI‑driven genomics analytics spinout
A new JCVI spinout, Diploid Genomics, launched with seed backing from Healthier Capital and plans to combine long‑read sequencing, imaging and AI models for discovery and diagnostics. Cofounders...
Macrophage‑targeting CAR T reshapes tumors: preclinical survival gains
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reported that IL‑12–producing CAR T cells engineered to target tumor‑associated macrophages (TAMs) improved survival and controlled...
Mendra nets $82m to build rare‑disease portfolio using AI
Mendra closed an $82 million Series A to acquire, develop and commercialize treatments for rare diseases, the company said. The financing was co‑led by OrbiMed, 8VC and 5AM Ventures, with...
Diagnostics and pathology tools roll out: Tempus Predict, Navinci, Zepto; FDA clears 4‑in‑1 home test
Several diagnostic and pathology vendors unveiled new products and services this week. Tempus launched Paige Predict, an AI pathology suite that estimates biomarker presence across cancer types;...
Erasca upsizes offering: $258.8M raised to fund RAS/MAPK programs
Erasca closed an upsized public offering, selling 25.875 million shares at $10 each to raise roughly $258.8 million before fees. The San Diego-based precision oncology company said proceeds will...
Corxel lands $287M series D to push oral GLP‑1 CX‑11 into phase III preparation
Corxel Pharmaceuticals raised $287 million in a Series D round to advance CX‑11, an oral small‑molecule GLP‑1 receptor agonist for obesity and overweight patients. The company said funds will...
Wegovy pill demand surges: prescriptions spike and market reaction follows
Novo Nordisk’s oral formulation of semaglutide—marketed as an oral Wegovy pill—saw prescription volumes ramp sharply in its early weeks on the market, with analysts reporting roughly a 500%...
Encodia collapse: protein‑sequencing startup shutters, assets up for auction
Encodia, the San Diego protein sequencing company that developed ProteoCode (DNA‑tagged peptide readout), ceased operations late last year and is conducting an assignment for the benefit of...
Guardant patent fight remanded: appeals court sends case back to PTAB
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remanded Guardant Health’s patent dispute with TwinStrand Biosciences and the University of Washington to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for...
Diploid Genomics launches: Venter‑led spinout promises AI genomics analytics
A new JCVI spinout, Diploid Genomics, cofounded by J. Craig Venter and seeded by Healthier Capital, launched with plans to build an AI‑driven genomics analytics and diagnostics platform. The...
Macrophage‑targeted CAR T: Trojan horse approach reprograms solid tumor microenvironment
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine and collaborators reported IL‑12‑producing CAR T cells that target tumor‑associated macrophages (TAMs) and remodel the immunosuppressive tumor...
SPARK trial posts activity: sitravatinib plus tislelizumab shows signals in TNBC
A cohort in the SPARK trial reported activity for the combination of sitravatinib and tislelizumab in locally recurrent or metastatic triple‑negative breast cancer. The multi‑cohort phase II...
Moderna pulls back from late‑stage vaccine trials amid political pushback
Moderna said it is curbing investments in late‑stage infectious disease vaccine trials following political backlash in the U.S., a move reported amid industry concerns about the policy environment...
NVIDIA, Lilly Build $1B AI Lab—Drug Discovery Reboot
NVIDIA and Eli Lilly announced a $1 billion collaboration to build an AI-powered drug discovery laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area. The partnership will combine NVIDIA’s AI hardware and...
Wegovy Pill Ramps Up... Prescriptions Spike 500% Week Two
Novo Nordisk reported a rapid initial uptake for its oral Wegovy weight‑loss pill, with prescriptions ramping up roughly 500% in the product’s second week on the market. Analysts flagged strong...
Erasca Upsized Offering—$258.8M Raised
Erasca closed an upsized public offering, selling 25,875,000 shares at $10 per share to raise approximately $258.8 million in gross proceeds. The clinical‑stage precision oncology company said the...
Sanofi to File for Eczema Drug Despite Mixed Phase III Data
Sanofi said it will seek regulatory approval for amlitelimab in atopic dermatitis despite mixed Phase III results across trials. The company reported that one pivotal study met primary endpoints...
Trojan‑Horse CAR T: Macrophage Targeting Reshapes Tumors
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reported that IL‑12‑producing CAR T cells targeting tumor‑associated macrophages (TAMs) improved survival in aggressive mouse models of...
Protein Sequencing Startup Encodia Shuts Down—Lab Assets Up for Sale
Encodia, a San Diego protein‑sequencing company that developed a DNA‑tagging ProteoCode approach, ceased operations late last year and has begun auctioning laboratory equipment, GenomeWeb...
Appeals Court Remands Guardant Patent Ruling to PTAB
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remanded a patent infringement dispute involving Guardant Health, TwinStrand Biosciences and the University of Washington back to the Patent Trial...