Setting the tone for the biopharma industry as it enters a new year, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) held each January has once again led to reflections, projections and earnest hopes for improving financial and M&A markets. Despite concerns over valuations, raising money and pricing issues, industry leaders are generally upbeat as the industry moves into 2024. JPM’s Sophie Jones, managing director of health care investment banking, noted in a Jan. 18 webinar sponsored by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization that the conference included more than 700 companies. “It’s morphing now into really the kick-off into everybody’s year.” The overall mood was “generally positive,” said Donna LaVoie, president and CEO of Lavoiehealthscience. But since the conference, the XBI index “has given us returns back now off 2%” this week, suggesting investors are “still skittish despite JPM’s positivity.”

JPM meeting wraps up, analysts see brighter year ahead

Analysts from J.P. Morgan recapped the firm’s recent health care conference in San Francisco and looked ahead to 2024. The tone was generally optimistic for the future, even as biotech companies continue to tighten their financial belts while reprioritizing pipelines. Across big pharma and larger-cap biotech, deals are expected to continue but at a smaller scale.

Edgewise stock edges higher with an underwritten offering

Edgewise Therapeutics Inc. priced an underwritten offering of 21.8 million shares at $11 each as it looking for about $240 million in gross proceeds. The net proceeds will be earmarked to further develop EDG-5506 for preventing contraction-induced muscle damage in dystrophinopathies in those with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies. The anticipated closing date is Jan. 23. The U.S. FDA granted the small molecule orphan designations in both indications and the rare pediatric disease designation in Duchenne. The offering helped propel the company’s stock (NASDAQ:EWTX) forward at midday, with shares trading 35% higher at $13.10 each, their highest valuation in the past 12 months.

2023 ends year with 191 US FDA approvals, including 55 NMEs 

The U.S. FDA approved 21 drugs in December, bringing the total for the year to 191, a 26% increase to the 151 U.S. approvals in 2022. New molecular entities (NMEs) fell from 6 in November to 3 in December, bringing the annual number of NMEs approved to 55.

Proteomic signature can identify long COVID

Researchers at ETH Zurich have identified a proteomic signature that could recognize long COVID six months after acute infection. Biologically, the signature indicated that the complement system remained active in patients with long COVID six months after infection. Translationally, it could lead to a diagnostic test for long COVID, and suggests that targeting the complement system could be a therapeutic approach to prevent or treat the disorder.

Korean gene therapy firm Genecraft draws ₩10B in series A

As gene therapies gain unprecedented traction into 2024, preclinical-stage South Korean biotech Genecraft Inc. said it raised ₩10 billion (US$7.48 million) in a series A financing to further R&D for its therapy against lung cancer. Major investors of the funding round included Seoul Techno Holdings Inc., Infobank Corp. and Cosine Investment. The latest financing will help conduct clinical trials for its flagship asset called RX-001 in KRAS-positive lung cancer, while also carrying out consignment R&D projects.

Also in the news

AI Proteins, Alaya.bio, Amplia, Argenx, Bioventus, Bpgbio, Eisai, Enflow, Esperion, Evommune, Exo, Golden, GSK, Helix, Hoth, Inflammasome, Junshi, Lipocine, Nanoscope, Neurobo, Orphalan, Oxford, Pepromene, Perspective, Recce, Revatis, Sun, Synendos, Taro, Transcode, Vaxxinity, Verity, Vivtex, Vor, Xoma