Researchers at New York University have demonstrated that protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) on epithelial cells of the colon continued after they were trafficked from the cell membrane.
Mozart Therapeutics Inc. CEO Katie Fanning said the firm’s $55 million series A financing will allow the filing of an IND, probably in early 2024, for a prospect in celiac disease. Founded in July 2020, Seattle-based Mozart is based on research into the CD8 T-cell regulatory network, which has been found to play an important role in surveillance, recognition and elimination of inappropriately activated autoreactive and pathogenic immune cells.
Metacrine Inc.’s departure, in the wake of mixed phase IIa results, from the fiercely competitive nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) space with farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist MET-642, put a serious dent in shares and brought implications for other players. The San Diego-based firm’s stock (NASDAQ:MTCR) closed at $1.63, down $2.20, or 57%, as its plans to shift emphasis from NASH to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were made known.
In recent years enteric glial cells have moved on from being regarded as bit part players passively supporting intestinal epithelial cells, to being recognized as having a fundamental role in gastrointestinal physiology.
Calpro AS and Ampersand Health Ltd. are combining technologies to provide a self-management and remote monitoring solution for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The partnership will integrate Oslo, Norway-based Calpro’s smart biomarker test with Ampersand’s digital therapeutic app My IBD Care. The companies said the collaboration could help reduce the administrative burden of IBD patient care.
A little over a month after Versant Ventures-back Vividion Therapeutics Inc. filed to raise $100 million in an IPO, Bayer AG is paying $1.5 billion up front, with the promise of $500 million more in milestone payments, to take over the firm and its small-molecule precision oncology and immunology platform.
DUBLIN – Danish startup Cytoki Pharma ApS raised $45 million in a series A round to take forward an engineered, long-acting version of interleukin-22 (lipidated IL-22), for development in inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBD).
HONG KONG – Shionogi & Co. Ltd. has inked a multitarget drug discovery collaboration for Inveniai LLC’s artificial intelligence and machine learning platform Alphameld. Inveniai is eligible to receive up to $200 million per program through a combination of up-front payments, development and commercial milestones, and royalties.
Marking its second acquisition this year after snapping up cancer-focused Five Prime Therapeutics Inc., Amgen Inc. is adding to its inflammatory disease portfolio through the purchase of Seattle-based Rodeo Therapeutics Corp. The deal includes $55 million up front for the private company's shareholders, plus contingent milestone payments worth up to an additional $666 million. Rodeo's lead preclinical program targets 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase to increase tissue levels of prostaglandin PGE2.
LONDON – Sosei Heptares Ltd. has signed up Glaxosmithkline plc to take on the orphan G protein-coupled (GPCR) target GPR35, in a deal worth a potential $481 million.
