Shares of Astria Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ATXS) were trading at $11.78, up $3.30, or 39%, on word of the takeover by Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. for a mix of cash and stock that represents an implied value of $13 per Astria share and about $700 million in enterprise value. The transaction adds navenibart, a long-acting plasma kallikrein inhibitor in phase III trials, to the hereditary angioedema portfolio held by Biocryst, shares of which (NASDAQ:BCRX) were selling for $6.34, down 70 cents, or 10%.

Series B rounds bring $600M to Kailera, $254M to Kardigan

Two biopharma companies that emerged from stealth within the past year raised top amounts in series B financings for 2025, seeking to advance their therapeutic candidates for obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Kailera Therapeutics Inc. pulled in $600 million, the most raised this year to date, not only among series B rounds, but among all rounds, tied with AI company Isomorphic Labs, which raised $600 million in its first round in March. The second-highest series B round this year is the $254 million raised by Kardigan Inc., disclosed Oct. 14, the same day as the Kailera financing. Kailera first emerged in October 2024 with a $400 million series A round to focus on a pipeline of assets to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, while Kardigan launched in January 2025 with a $300 million series A round to focus on cardiovascular programs.

Astellas’ zolbetuximab misses pancreatic cancer phase II endpoint

Astellas Pharma Inc. reported Oct. 14 that its CLDN18.2-targeting monoclonal antibody, zolbetuximab (Vyloy), did not meet the primary endpoint of overall survival in the phase II Gleam trial of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The open-label randomized Gleam study compared zolbetuximab in combination with chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel) vs. chemotherapy alone as a first-line treatment in patients with CLDN18.2-positive (≥75% of tumor cells) metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The company said it plans to work with investigators to further analyze the results, including secondary endpoints and subgroup data.

BioFuture 2025: A cancer revolution by different methods

The importance of scalability, combination therapies, immunotherapies and speed in developing cancer drugs are paramount in creating a revolution in treating patients who often don’t have much hope, according to a panel of developers who spoke at the BioFuture conference in New York. Another important aspect of driving development is paying attention to what is happening in China, some panel members noted. “We’re in an infrastructure race with China and speed will win,” said panelist Julie O'Shaughnessy, the chief operating officer of Vivodyne Inc., which uses AI, robotics and human-tissue engineering to generate predictive human data. The BioFuture 2025 conference continues today and concludes Wednesday, Oct. 15.

PTO director strikes a blow for ML patent subject matter eligibility

John Squires, the recently anointed director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), recently intervened in a disputed patent application invoking machine learning, a technology of increasing importance in the life sciences. Along with two other members of the PTO management team, Squires said the patent application had met the standard for subject matter eligibility for patent protection, a finding that seems to bode well for ML-based patent applications going forward.

Also in the news

ADC, Alligator, Apogee, Arcus, Ardelyx, Avidity, Beone, Bicara, Bioinvent, BMS, Cullinan, Evaxion, Gilead, HMNC Brain Health, Iregene, ITM, Lundbeck, Mannkind, Medincell, Moderna, Nouscom, Regeneron, Revir, Soleno, Systimmune, Taiho, Teva, Transgene, Tvardi, UCB, Xenetic