Superluminal Medicines Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co. are collaborating in a deal to develop cardiometabolic disease and obesity therapies by aiming at undisclosed G protein-coupled receptor targets. The deal could bring Superluminal as much as $1.3 billion, including up-front and near-term investments, an equity investment, development and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on net sales. In return, Lilly gets the exclusive development and commercialization rights once Superluminal brings in the candidates. Lilly was a backer in Superluminal’s $120 million series A, which was led by RA Capital management along with Nventures, Nvidia’s venture capital group. Superluminal launched in August 2023.

Elysium Therapeutics working on longer-lasting opioid-overdose drug

Opioid overdoses, though lessening, remain a huge problem. Such reversers as Narcan (naloxone, Emergent Biosolutions Inc.) and Opvee (nalmefene, Indivior plc) don’t last long enough, which means some patients rebound, or re-narcotize, and may die. Elysium Therapeutics Inc. is developing its Synthetic Opioid Overdose Prevention and Reversal program to come up with a longer-lasting remedy.

Microsphere injectables biotech G2Gbio debuts with $38M IPO

G2Gbio Inc. debuted on the Korea Exchange with a ₩52.2 billion (US$37.7 million) IPO Aug. 14. Nearly half of the funds raised will be used to expand G2Gbio’s manufacturing plants and help mass produce sustained-release injectable drug products such as GB-5001, its lead candidate in development as a once-monthly formulation of donepezil (Aricept; Eisai Co. Ltd.) for Alzheimer’s disease. The long-lasting injectables are built on the company’s InnoLAMP (Innovative Long-Acting Microsphere Platform) technology, which allows the loading of various drugs into 10- to 100-micrometer-sized microspheres.

New research solves mystery of sex differences in acute kidney injury

German researchers have cracked the decades-long mystery of why males are more susceptible to acute kidney injury (AKI) than females, demonstrating that estrogen has a protective effect in females. The sex hormone was shown to block ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death, in the renal tubules that filter blood. The finding opens the way to developing estrogen derivatives as treatments for AKI in males and postmenopausal females.

Newco news: Aussie gene therapy company emerges from stealth

Aussie gene therapy company Mirugen Pty Ltd. has emerged from stealth mode from the Center for Eye Research Australia (CERA) in Melbourne, toting a AU$4.5 million (US$2.9 million) seed round that will see it optimize its lead candidate to treat retinitis pigmentosa. Co-founded by Raymond Wong, head of Cellular Reprogramming Research at CERA and Keith Martin, CERA’s managing director, Mirugen builds on the Nobel Prize winning science behind cellular reprogramming.

US API stockpile added to onshoring toolbox

In his latest effort to incentivize domestic manufacturing of drugs and their key ingredients, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) to replenish the country’s nearly empty Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve (SAPIR), giving a preference to U.S.-produced APIs. While about 40% of the prescription drugs used in the U.S. are finished in-country, only about 10% of the APIs by volume for the finished drug products are made in America, according to the EO. The order instructs the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to develop a list of about 26 critical drugs and then obtain a six-month SAPIR supply of the APIs for those drugs.

Congress questions Medicare’s WISeR proposal

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed to use AI to cut down on abuse of the Medicare program, but several members of Congress have concerns about the notion, given that private payers have used AI to illegitimately deny services to their beneficiaries.

Also in the news

Abbvie, Altos, ALX Oncology, Apertura, Armata, Biodlink, Biohaven, Compass, Creative Medical, Cytomx, Emugen, Fate, Galibra, Gameto, Generation, Genmab, Immunitybio, Innoviva, Insmed, Kexing, Lixte, MC Sciences, Mediwound, Nasus, Neuronascent, NextRNA, Ocugen, Oric, Remegen, Response, Santhera, Savara, Sellas, Stoke, Vividion, Vor, X4