For years, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) kicked off with splashy headlines of major M&A activity among biopharma companies, but in 2026, the hype outweighed reality and in the end, no major merger announcements were made during the conference for companies developing therapeutics.
Christmas came early for a number of biopharma companies this year as eight companies collectively raised $3.24 billion in public offerings. Both Structure Therapeutics Inc. and Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced upsized offerings of $650 million each, and Kymera Therapeutics Inc. raised $602 million, placing all three in the top 10 follow-on offerings of the year.
Kymera Therapeutics Inc. has disclosed signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular disorders, viral infections, neurodegeneration, and autoimmune, metabolic and liver diseases, among others.
Kymera Therapeutics Inc. found itself juggling partnerships by bringing one on board while going to the development bench in another. Kymera and Gilead Sciences Inc. will collaborate on a molecular glue degrader program that targets cyclin-dependent kinase 2 in solid tumors, including breast cancer.
It’s a good week to be working on drugs targeting STAT6. Kymera Therapeutics Inc.’s, KT-621, the first oral STAT6 degrader candidate to enter the clinic, surpassed expectations with impressive safety, pharmacokinetic and biomarker data from a phase I trial, while potential fast-followers from Nurix Therapeutics Inc. and Recludix Pharma Inc. advanced via respective partnerships with Sanofi SA.
STAT6 plays a central role in regulating Th2-driven immune responses. Recent studies have identified gain-of-function mutations in the STAT6 gene that are associated with early-onset, severe allergic diseases. As a result, STAT6 has emerged as a promising therapeutic target in conditions such as asthma, eosinophilic inflammation, food allergies and atopic dermatitis, particularly in cases that are refractory to standard therapies.
Kymera Therapeutics Inc. has announced a new oral IRF5 degrader program with potential to treat immuno-inflammatory diseases, such as lupus, Sjögren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Kymera Therapeutics Inc. has described proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTACs) compounds comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase-binding moiety covalently linked to a signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6)-targeting moiety.
Kymera Therapeutics Inc. has patented new proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) comprising an E3 ubiquitin ligase-binding moiety coupled to an interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK-4)-targeting moiety via linker.
