About 17 months after emerging from stealth with its Trueglue discovery platform, Magnet Biomedicine Inc. has joined with Eli Lilly and Co. to discover, develop and commercialize molecular glue therapeutics for oncology. “It’s a really important deal, especially given the discovery of Trueglues is something Magnet is pioneering,” CEO Brian Safina told BioWorld. The deal includes $40 million in up-front and near-term payments, including an equity investment, as well as potential milestone payments bringing the deal total to more than $1.25 billion, plus tiered royalties. “We’re pretty pumped,” Safina said, noting that it is the company’s first major deal to validate its technology since the 2022 founding.

Leqembi gets another thumbs-up amid CHMP February recommendations

The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal products for Human Use (CHMP) is standing by its opinion on Leqembi (lecanemab) after the European Commission pushed back against a recommendation in November 2024 that the Alzheimer’s disease drug be approved. Also recommended by the CHMP during its February review were Krystal Biotech Inc.’s topical gene therapy, Vyjuvek (beremagene geperpavec), for treating epidermolysis bullosa, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Lynozyfic (linvoseltamab), a BCMA and CD3 targeted bispecific antibody for treating multiple myeloma.

Word from data committee on Praxis’ phase III ulixacaltamide in tremor sinks shares

Shares of Praxis Precision Medicines Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX) were trading at $41.36, down $23.67, or 36%, after an update on the interim analysis of Study 1 in the phase III Essential 3 program testing ulixacaltamide for essential tremor. The independent data monitoring committee said that, based on the predefined decision framework for Study 1, the trial should be stopped for futility since it's unlikely to meet the primary efficacy endpoint. The panel said that some underlying assumptions of the statistical model might have influenced the outcome and suggested Praxis investigate alternative analysis methods. Study 1 as well as Study 2 in the Essential 3 program will continue, the firm said, with top-line results due in the third quarter of this year.

Dualitybio among three to refile for Hong Kong IPO

Antibody-drug conjugate developer Duality Biotherapeutics Inc. is gearing up for a second IPO attempt this year, having filed on Feb. 27 a new prospectus on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, two other biotechs – Genuine Biotech Ltd. and Cloudbreak Pharma Inc. – also are having another go at a listing in Hong Kong in 2025.

For therapeutic hypoxia, small molecule can mimic mountain trip

Too much of a good thing, it turns out, is a concept that applies to oxygen. And researchers at the University of California at San Francisco are working on a small molecule, Hypoxystat, that can lower tissue oxygen levels and prevent damage when oxygen levels are too high. When administered to mice with the rare mitochondrial disorder Leigh syndrome, the molecule more than tripled their average lifespan.

Phase III cancer successes in January include Itovebi, Libtayo, Rybrevant

In January 2025, BioWorld tracked 171 phase I-III clinical trial updates, down from 212 in December. The month delivered 12 successful phase III outcomes, six of those in cancer, while two trials ended in failure.

BioWorld Insider Podcast: Mega money well spent? Mammoth mergers fall short of the dream

Billion-dollar M&As are commonplace now, but not too long ago they were a rarity. So many have occurred in the past few years, they’ve become the norm. But were all these multi-billion-dollar mega mergers worth the money? Karen Carey, BioWorld’s senior managing editor and chief analyst, crunched the numbers on 21 of the biggest M&As in a three-part BioWorld series and found very few have been, so far, good deals for the buyer. In this podcast, Carey sifts through the winners and losers and explains the analysis.

Also in the news

Adicet, Amarin, Belite, Biosymetrics, Cogent, Cyclacel, Epimab, Irlab, Kallyope, Leo, Ligand, Medigene, Ocugen, PDS, Quoin, Renovaro, Schrödinger, Servier, Silence, Sinovac, Sobi, Takeda, Verve, Zevra