Shares of previously troubled small-cap Aeglea Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AGLE) soared 392% to trade midday at 52 cents, up 42 cents, on word that the firm is acquiring privately held Spyre Therapeutics Inc. in a stock-for-stock transaction, and raising $210 million through the sale of series A preferred shares. The deal with Spyre brings aboard two early stage compounds for inflammatory bowel disease. Both are due to enter the clinic next year.

Tagworks’ click-to-release ADC approach draws $65M in series A round

Twelve years on from spinning out of Philips Healthcare, Tagworks Pharmaceuticals BV has raised $65 million in a series A round to take a new generation of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) based on click chemistry into the clinic. The use of click chemistry linkers ensures the cytotoxic drug is released only when a trigger molecule is administered. This means release can be timed to happen only when the ADC has accumulated in the tumor, but after any that did not reach the target is excreted. That opens the way to releasing the payload in the tumor microenvironment, rather than once an ADC is internalized by a cancer cell. The therapeutic index will increase and the application of ADCs extended to non-internalizing targets, said Marc Robillard, founder and CEO of Tagworks.

Merger with Talaris to advance Tourmaline’s hidden gem for TED

Less than two years old, Tourmaline Bio Inc. is gaining a public listing through a reverse merger with publicly traded Talaris Therapeutics Inc., as it enters phase IIb with its lead IL-6 inhibitor for thyroid eye disease (TED). The merger is worth $3.43 per share for the shareholders of Talaris, a company that has shed nearly all of its workforce this year following disappointments with its lead stem cell therapy for kidney transplant recipients. With 42 million shares outstanding, it amounts to $145 million, including a $64.8 million cash dividend and a 21.3% stake in the combined company. News of the merger drove shares of Talaris (NASDAQ:TALS) up by more than 23% to $2.71 in early trading on June 22. Tourmaline, which recently completed a $112 million series A round, is receiving $75 million through a private placement in connection with the merger. Its shareholders will hold a 78.7% stake, and the merger will “accelerate our ability to maximize the value” of the lead IL-6 inhibitor, TOUR-006, said the company’s CEO, Sandeep Kulkarni.

Studies give new insights into role of Y chromosome and its denizens in cancer progression

Back-to-back papers in the June 22, 2023, issue of Nature have identified separate molecular mechanisms underlying sex-specific cancer outcomes. Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that increased expression of the epigenetic enzyme KDM5D, which is located on the Y chromosome, contributed to cancer progression in KRAS-mutated tumors. In the same issue, a team from Cedars-Sinai reported new insights into the consequences of losing the entire Y chromosome – which, at least in cancer, happens more often than one might think: 10% to 40% of bladder cancers in males lose the Y chromosome.

Newco news: Enveric Biosciences gears up for phase I anxiety trial with psilocin prodrug 

Enveric Biosciences Inc. is gearing up to begin clinical trials in generalized anxiety disorder with lead candidate, EB-373, a psilocin prodrug. Trials are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023. Leveraging its Psybrary discovery and development platform, Enveric is developing small-molecule therapeutics for treating anxiety, depression and addiction disorders. Lead program EB-373, a next-generation prodrug of psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin, “has the potential to bring much-needed innovation to the treatment of anxiety disorder, which is underserved by current therapeutic options,” Enveric CEO Joseph Tucker said.

Telix expands urology pipeline with $35M acquisition of Lightpoint Medical  

Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. will acquire Lightpoint Medical Ltd. in a $35 million deal that will expand its urology pipeline and bring inhouse a new surgery-focused unit. Under the terms of the deal, Telix will pay Lightpoint $20 million up front and a further $15 million on achievement of certain development milestones. The up-front payment will be paid in equity, and the additional milestones will be payable in cash or equity, at Telix’s election. U.K.-based Lightpoint specializes in intraoperative detection of targeted radiopharmaceuticals, and the company’s Sensei radio-guided surgery business will be integrated into Telix to operate as a new surgeon-focused unit.

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