A trio of European cancer vaccine specialists have filed progress reports, with advances in technology and targeting, fresh infusions of cash, and off-the-shelf products moving into the clinic. Six years on from its formation, Ervimmune closed a series A at €17 million (US$19.9 million) to drive forward clinical development of lead program Ervac-01. Accession Therapeutics Ltd. raised a further £30.5 million (US$40.4 million) from its existing investors, following dosing of four patients with Trocept-01. And Infinitopes Ltd. added $15.4 million to its seed round, as it finalizes preparations for a phase I/IIa trial of the lead product ITOP-1.
Neuropsychiatry specialist, Exciva GmbH raised €51 million (US$59.9 million) in a series B round to fund a phase II/III trial of Deraphan, a combination therapy for treating agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc. rolled out new positive data to prove its thesis on the value of blocking IL-2-inducible T-cell kinase in atopic dermatitis (AD), and the company’s first-in-class approach “could shake up cancer and autoimmune disorders,” Wainwright analyst Swayampakula Ramakanth said when he started coverage Jan. 2.
Early data of Waldenström’s non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients enrolled in a trial testing Immunitybio Inc.’s off-the-shelf allogeneic CD19 chimeric antigen receptor natural killer cell therapy (CAR-NK), used in combination with anti-CD20 drug rituximab, led to durable complete responses without lymphodepletion.
The EMA had its second busiest year ever in 2025, approving 104 drugs, of which 38 had a new active substance. Sixteen of these are for treating rare diseases, and four are advanced therapy medicinal products.
Microbiome specialist Enterobiotix Ltd. is in the throes of raising a new round of funding for a phase IIb trial after reporting positive results from the phase IIa study of EBX-102-02, an oral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Immunofoco Biotechnology Co. Ltd. reported encouraging early clinical data for its CLDN18.2-targeted CAR T therapy, IMC-002, in heavily pretreated gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer, adding momentum to the push to extend cellular immunotherapy into solid tumors.
Lexeo Therapeutics Inc.’s phase I/II data – characterized by Oppenheimer analyst Leland Gershell as “heroic” – this week with gene therapy LX-2020 in PKP2-associated arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy pushed the New York-based firm’s shares (NASDAQ:LXEO) down 35% to a low of $6.90 Jan. 12, following a $10.54 close the previous trading day.
Stoke Therapeutics Inc.’s speeded-up timeline for zorevunersen, the antisense oligonucleotide in development with Biogen Inc. as a first-in-class potential disease-modifying treatment for Dravet syndrome, put the rare, severe form of lifelong epilepsy in the spotlight. The news involved completion of enrollment and a phase III data readout from the Emperor study, as officials said signups of 150 patients are expected in the second quarter of the year, which puts the study on track for data in mid-2027.
Ollin Biosciences Inc. is gearing up for global phase III trials this year after disclosing favorable top-line results from its randomized, head-to-head phase Ib Jade study comparing OLN-324, a next-generation VEGF/Ang2 bispecific antibody, to Vabysmo (faricimab, Roche AG), which takes aim at the same targets. The drugs were tested in more than 160 patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) or wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).