Intron Biotechnology Inc. has entered into an official contract with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) to develop bacteriophages for combating uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) infections. DEVCOM, a subcommand of the U.S. Army Futures Command, has been working on a project to develop products that address the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) among soldiers exposed to austere environments, such as when deployed or undergoing training.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) have announced a renewed collaboration to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases.

Twist Bioscience Corp. has established a drug discovery agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to discover and develop novel antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Serengen GmbH and Deargen Inc. have established a collaboration to accelerate the drug discovery process by bringing together Serengen’s novel DNA encoded library (DEL) technology with Deargen’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery platform, Deardti.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the University of Oxford have entered into a strategic partnership to accelerate the development of safe, effective and globally accessible vaccines against ‘disease X,’ the threat of unknown pathogens with the potential to cause pandemics.

Hanchorbio Inc. and Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc. have entered into a strategic framework agreement for collaboration to combine Hanchorbio’s protein engineering expertise and proprietary Fc-based designer biologics (FBDB) technology platform with Henlius’ integrated product development and commercialization capabilities.

Verastem Oncology Inc. has entered into a discovery and development collaboration with Genfleet Therapeutics (Shanghai) Ltd. to advance three oncology discovery programs targeting RAS pathway-driven cancers.

Imunon Inc. has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for the evaluation of the immunogenicity and efficacy of two Imunon DNA-based Lassa virus vaccine candidates. Under the 3-year agreement, the NIAID will assess the efficacy of Placcine DNA constructs against Lassa virus in guinea pig and non-human primate disease models, including both prime and prime-boost vaccine strategies.

Peptigrowth Inc. and Orizuru Therapeutics Inc. have entered into a joint development agreement to create a novel synthetic peptide that will replace a recombinant growth factor used in the manufacturing of a regenerative medicine product being developed by Orizuru.