Nektar Therapeutics Inc. President and CEO Howard Robin didn’t mince words during a call with investors after market close Feb. 23 to disclose top-line data from a phase II study testing rezpegaldesleukin (rezpeg) in systemic lupus erythematosus, which fell short of partner Eli Lilly and Co.’s criteria for advancing to phase III and raised uncertainty as to how the big pharma might proceed in other indications such as atopic dermatitis (AD).
Coya Therapeutics Inc. has announced expansion of its exclusive worldwide rights for the development and commercialization of COYA-301, the company's low-dose IL-2 subcutaneous administration product candidate. COYA-301 is intended to enhance regulatory T-cell (Treg) function in vivo to treat the systemic neuro-inflammation underlying certain autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases.
Gentibio Inc. has announced preclinical data relating to the company's platform technology, demonstrating technical progress to engineer regulatory T cells (Tregs) for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
For privately held Good Therapeutics Inc., founded in 2016 with a platform technology for developing context-dependent therapeutics, the plan had always been to seek a buyer for the first asset to emerge. One came along a little earlier than expected, as Roche Holding AG entered a merger agreement for Good, picking up preclinical-stage PD-1-regulated IL-2 program, in exchange for an up-front cash payment of $250 million.
By using engineered retinal pigment epithelial cells to deliver IL-2 into the tumor microenvironment, investigators at Rice University eradicated ovarian and colorectal tumors in mouse models, and elicited T-cell responses after implantation in primates.
DUBLIN – Anaveon AG raised CHF110 million (US$119.5 million) in a series B round to accelerate development of its interleukin-2 (IL-2) agonist ANV-419, which is currently undergoing a phase I/II trial. “We are putting our compound into multiple clinical trials and multiple indications in parallel,” CEO and co-founder Andreas Katopodis told BioWorld.
Less than six months after closing a $55 million series A round, Asher Biotherapeutics Inc. has added another $108 million in a series B round to accelerate development of its early stage pipeline of targeted cytokine-based immunotherapies for cancer, autoimmune disease and infection.
The hefty $107.5 million series B financing disclosed June 10 by Synthekine Inc. underscored Wall Street’s interest in engineered cytokines, where an army of companies is developing prospects at varying stages – including Bright Peak Therapeutics Inc., which pulled down a series B in almost exactly the same amount as Synthekine, and on the same day.
Bright Peak Therapeutics Inc. closed a $107 million series B round to progress a pipeline of engineered cytokines, which are produced using a chemical synthesis method instead of classical recombinant protein production approaches.
