Catalym GmbH has closed a $150 million series D to take its first in class immune potentiator visugromab into phase IIb development in a number of solid tumors. The round follows on the heels of data from a phase I/IIa trial which showed visugromab in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor antibody Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol Myers Squibb) increased T-cell infiltration and generated durable antitumor responses in patients who had exhausted all other treatment options.
Ipsen SA and Foreseen Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd. have entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement for FS-001, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets a novel tumor-associated antigen highly expressed across a range of solid tumors that was identified through the application of Foreseen’s proprietary proteomic platforms.
Myricx Bio (Myricx Pharma Ltd.), a spin out from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute, has closed a series A financing raising £90 million ($114 million) to support its work focused on the discovery and development of a novel class of payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
Signet Therapeutics Inc. has received IND clearance from the FDA for SIGX-1094 as a potential treatment for diffuse gastric cancer. A phase I trial is planned in patients with diffuse gastric cancer and other advanced solid tumors.
Circle Pharma Inc. has submitted an IND application to the FDA for CID-078, a first-in-class cyclin A/B RxL inhibitor. Pending approval, the company plans to initiate a phase I trial in patients with advanced solid tumor malignancies.
SCG Cell Therapy Pte Ltd. has gained FDA clearance of its IND application to initiate a phase I/II trial of SCG-142, a novel next-generation human papillomavirus (HPV) E7-specific T-cell receptor-engineered T (TCR T)-cell therapy for patients with HPV-associated solid tumors.
Waypoint Bio has raised $14.5 million in seed funding to support its work pioneering novel cell therapies for solid tumors using in vivo spatial pooled screening technology.
The first development candidate has been nominated under a collaboration between Carisma Therapeutics Inc. and Moderna Inc. to discover, develop and commercialize in vivo engineered chimeric antigen receptor monocytes and macrophages (CAR-M) therapeutics for the treatment of cancer.
Following a day of deals that collectively bring a potential $3.75 billion into three biopharma companies – namely Ascidian Therapeutics Inc., Belharra Therapeutics Inc. and Mabcare Therapeutics – researchers will be busy discovering new therapies for neurological and immunological diseases, and advancing globally a candidate for solid tumors.
