Moderna Inc. is halting its efforts to develop mRNA-1647 as a vaccine for preventing congenital cytomegalovirus infection, the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the U.S. The pivotal and placebo-controlled phase III study of mRNA-1647 missed the primary efficacy endpoint, which was preventing the infection in seronegative females ages 16 to 40. Moderna said the efficacy against primary cytomegalovirus infection in healthy women was “well below” the company's target, ranging from 6% to 23% depending on the case definition used. There are no U.S. FDA-approved vaccines for preventing the infection. The drug’s development in bone marrow transplant patients continues however in a phase II study.

Ipsen to acquire fellow French company Imcheck in €1B deal

Ipsen SA is expanding its cancer portfolio with the €1 billion (US$1.16 billion) acquisition of immuno-oncology specialist Imcheck SAS, and will pay €350 million up front with the balance to come in regulatory and sales-based milestones for the lead program ICT-01. The deal was sealed on the heels of clinical data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in May, showing a remarkable rate of response in patients newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia who were not strong enough to receive intensive chemotherapy.

Ventyx stock skyrockets on phase II CV data with NLRP3 prospect

Shares of Ventyx Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:VTYX) were trading at $7.04, up $3.18, or 82%, on results from the phase II study with oral, once-daily VTX-3232 in patients with obesity and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. The 175-subject study examined central nervous system-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor VTX-3232 vs. placebo, alone or in combination with semaglutide, with safety and tolerability as the primary endpoint, and effects on inflammation (measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) as the secondary goal. Wainwright analyst Emily Bodnar observed in a report that while “reductions in inflammatory markers are encouraging, additional phase II/III trials in different CV indications plus or minus semaglutide are needed, given the lack of effect on weight loss.”

Ena Respiratory raises AU$34M series B to fund phase II trial

Ena Respiratory Pty Ltd. raised an AU$34 million (US$22.4 million) series B round to advance INNA-051, its nasal spray for symptomatic viral respiratory infections, to phase II trials. The virus-agnostic once-weekly dry powder nasal spray is designed to prime the natural antiviral host defenses in the nose, where viruses like colds, flu, rhinoviruses (RSV) and coronaviruses typically enter, enabling the body to respond more quickly when challenged. Clinical studies to date suggest that INNA-051 has the potential to shorten the duration of symptomatic infections, prevent progression to the lungs, and reduce complications.

Opportunity, risks, of cell therapy to tackle aging and disease

Stem cells are a promising therapeutic modality to fight aging and age-related disease, speakers at the Bio-Plus Interphex (BIX) Korea 2025 said. Progress in cell-based longevity medicine is being made, they added, although safety, ethical and regulatory issues are ongoing challenges. “Stem cell therapy can improve health, but it cannot be all,” Cha Kwang-yul, chair of Cha Global Institute for Bioscience and founder of Cha Biomedical Group, told the audience Oct. 15 in Seoul, South Korea. “People claim that ‘science’ [alone] can prolong human life, but that is not true. [Stem cells, too,] are an adjuvant therapy.”

Transcriptomics and AI for drug discovery by reading cell states

A technology that combines transcriptomic data and AI enables a novel approach to drug discovery based on the state of cells, how they behave and which genes they express. The Drugreflector model, developed by scientists at Cellarity Inc., learns from gene expression profiles and predicts which compounds could induce beneficial changes in that cellular state to develop a treatment.

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