With $50 million in hand from Flagship Pioneering, Abiologics Inc. is pairing generative artificial intelligence with high-throughput chemical protein synthesis to attack oncology and immunology indications with Synteins, synthetic proteins that represent a new class of programmable medicines. Avak Kahvejian, co-founder and CEO of Abiologics and general partner at Flagship, told BioWorld that Abiologics stands “at the precipice of a completely new modality.”
Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a LG Chem Ltd. subsidiary, said that Fotivda (tivozanib) in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s Opdivo (nivolumab) failed to increase progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced kidney cancer patients in a phase III Tinivo-2 study. Despite the primary endpoint miss, Aveo noted that Fotivda alone, or as a monotherapy, in the control arm meaningfully extended median PFS, helping “further support the approved use of Fotivda as a safe and effective treatment option in relapsed or refractory advanced [renal cell carcinoma] RCC following two or more prior systemic therapies.”
Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc. raised $167 million through an upsized IPO, with funds aimed at the development of its lead AlloNK program for systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune indications. Just a few days ago, the San Diego based company had aimed to sell 8.4 million shares between $14 and $16 each, but it raised the number of shares offered to 13.92 million and lowered the price to $12 each. The upsize brings Artiva’s shares outstanding following the IPO to about 22.8 million, giving the company a market cap of $273.6 million based on the IPO price.
The U.S. FDA advised Agenus Inc. to conduct a phase III trial for its immunotherapy combination, botensilimab (bot) and balstilimab (bal), instead of seeking accelerated approval based on phase II data, sending company shares plunging by 58.8% July 18.
As the “most concrete achievement” since its entry into the radiopharmaceutical therapy space last year, SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. picked up rights to Full-Life Technologies Ltd.’s RPT asset, FL-091, in a deal fetching up to $571.5 million.
Sotio Biotech AS and Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. are partnering to discover antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) via an option and license agreement worth up to $325.5 million plus sales royalties. The deal grants Sotio of Prague, Czech Republic, the option to license multiple fully human bispecific antibodies generated with Biocytogen’s Renlite platform, which Sotio will use to develop next-generation ADCs targeting solid tumors.
Catalym GmbH has closed a $150 million series D to take its first in class immune potentiator visugromab into phase IIb development in a number of solid tumors. The round follows on the heels of data from a phase I/IIa trial which showed visugromab in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor antibody Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol Myers Squibb) increased T-cell infiltration and generated durable antitumor responses in patients who had exhausted all other treatment options.
Mabwell Bioscience Co. gained clearance in China to start a phase II study of its novel Nectin4-targeting antibody drug conjugate (ADC), 9MW-2821, for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.
India’s first indigenous CAR T therapy is selling at around $50,000 per shot, nearly one-tenth of the price of top-selling CAR Ts in the U.S., and Immunoact founder and CEO Rahul Purwar told BioWorld he anticipates bringing the price down to as low as $20,000 per shot.
Orum Therapeutics Inc. struck a potential $945 million (₩1.3 trillion) deal with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. to discover novel degrader antibody conjugates (DAC) as targeted conditioning agents for use with gene editing, including Vertex’s gene therapy, Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel).
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