Get the Daily Brief
Latest Biotech News
Acadia Pharmaceuticals Drops Prader-Willi Syndrome Drug After Phase III Failure
Acadia Pharmaceuticals announced the termination of development for ACP-101, an intranasal therapy targeting hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome patients, following a phase III trial that failed...
Sanofi Boosts Corporate Venture Capital Arm with $625 Million Investment
Sanofi has infused an additional $625 million into its corporate venture capital arm, Sanofi Ventures, bringing total funds to $1.4 billion. This strategic move aims to strengthen investments in...
Lonza and RION Collaborate to Scale Exosome-Based Therapeutics Manufacturing
Lonza has partnered with RION Biosciences to provide cGMP manufacturing and technical support for commercial-scale production of RION’s purified exosome product (PEP) drug substance. This...
AI Drives Merck Collaboration to Discover Small Molecules for Challenging Targets
Merck & Co. has entered a $349 million deal with Variational AI to apply generative AI technology in designing and optimizing small molecule drug candidates against two undisclosed therapeutic...
Immuneering Reports Promising Phase 2 Data for MEK Inhibitor in Pancreatic Cancer
Immuneering announced encouraging mid-stage clinical trial results for atebimetinib, its oral MEK inhibitor for pancreatic cancer. The combination of atebimetinib with chemotherapy yielded an 86%...
Scanogen Receives $2.9 Million NIH Grant for Rapid Bloodstream Yeast Infection Test
Diagnostics firm Scanogen secured a $2.9 million grant from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to advance development of a culture-free, rapid test for bloodstream...
Leveraging AI and Robotics to Accelerate Life Science Discoveries at Lila Sciences
Lila Sciences raised $235 million in Series A funding to scale its AI-driven scientific discovery platform that integrates generative AI, robotics, and automated lab systems. The company aims to...
UniQure’s Gene Therapy Slows Huntington’s Progression by 75%
UniQure reported pivotal Phase 1/2 trial results showing its gene therapy AMT-130 significantly slowed Huntington’s disease progression by 75% over three years. This rare neurodegenerative...
FDA Rejects Scholar Rock’s SMA Drug Over Manufacturing Issues
The FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) to Scholar Rock’s selective anti-latent myostatin antibody apitegromab, intended for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), citing unresolved quality...
Pfizer Reenters Obesity Market with $4.9B Metsera Acquisition
Pfizer announced a $4.9 billion deal to acquire Metsera, regaining a foothold in the obesity treatment space. Metsera’s pipeline includes oral and injectable incretin-based therapies aimed to...
Sanofi Pumps $625M into Venture Fund to Boost Biotech Investments
Sanofi is doubling down on early-stage biotech funding by adding $625 million to its corporate venture fund, Sanofi Ventures. This brings the total capital to $1.4 billion, enabling increased...
AI-Driven Advances Transform Drug Discovery and Clinical Trial Design
Multiple biotech entities reported breakthroughs applying AI to drug discovery and trial optimization. Variational AI announced a $349 million strategic deal with Merck to deploy its Enki...
Groundbreaking CRISPR Technologies Boost Gene Editing Precision and Efficiency
Recent studies highlight enhancements in CRISPR genome editing technologies. Advances include a dual-mode CRISPR system enabling simultaneous gene activation and repression, broadening synthetic...
Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy and Molecular Targeting
Leading research efforts have yielded promising avenues in cancer treatment. Mass General Brigham and Broad Institute demonstrated CRISPR-enhanced CAR-T therapies with improved efficacy against...
AI and Machine Learning Enable Diagnostic and Prognostic Innovations
Artificial intelligence technologies are making substantial inroads into clinical diagnostics. Johns Hopkins researchers devised an AI method to identify neural signatures of schizophrenia and...
Biotech Sector Deals and Strategic Corporate Moves
The biotech industry continues active consolidation and expansion through acquisitions, partnerships, and funding rounds. Celltrion announced a $330 million acquisition of Eli Lilly’s cGMP...
UniQure Gene Therapy Slows Huntington’s Disease Progression
UniQure announced that its experimental gene therapy AMT-130 significantly slowed Huntington’s disease progression by 75% over three years in a Phase 1/2 trial. This pioneering one-time genetic...
Pfizer Accelerates Obesity Pipeline with $4.9B Metsera Acquisition
Pfizer has agreed to acquire Metsera for up to $7.3 billion including milestone payments, re-entering the obesity drug market following prior setbacks. The deal brings Metsera’s portfolio of oral...
Scholar Rock SMA Drug Delayed by FDA Over Manufacturing Issues
The FDA issued a complete response letter to Scholar Rock’s selective anti-latent myostatin antibody apitegromab for spinal muscular atrophy, citing ongoing manufacturing quality concerns at Novo...
AI Advances in Biotech: Lila Sciences and Variational AI Raise Major Funding
Lila Sciences secured $235 million in Series A funding to scale its AI-driven drug discovery platform combining generative AI, robotics, and automation to accelerate scientific experiments and...