Ipsen SA announced its second acquisition of the week, saying it will pay €700 million (US$797 million) for Memo Therapeutics AG and its phase III-ready drug potravitug, a treatment for BK virus-associated infections and nephropathy in immune-compromised kidney transplant patients.
Telum Therapeutics SL has completed an €18 million (US$24 million) series A financing to advance its lead program targeting hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by the multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.
Smartbax GmbH has announced the successful second closing of its pre-series A financing round for a total of €6.3 million (US$7.2 million) as it advances development of next-generation antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bacteria.
It is known that bacterial cells exchange biological matter, but it is not clear whether bacteria can exchange functional proteins. In a recent paper published in Science on June 25, 2026, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and their collaborators investigated horizontal protein transfer between bacteria, specifically between protein-donor Escherichia coli and protein-receiving E. coli that could turn into persister cells and tolerate lethal antibiotic doses or a stressful environment.
Jiangxi Kerui Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has disclosed new prodrugs of fungal GPI-anchored wall transfer protein 1 (GWT1) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of fungal infections.
For the second time this year, the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) canceled a scheduled meeting due to a federal judge’s stay that keeps the panel from meeting with its current membership. Typically, ACIP meets three times a year – in February, June and October. The 2026 June meeting was slated for June 23-25. Whether the adcom meets in October will be up to the courts and how far Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy digs in his heels to maintain a hand-picked committee tilted toward his view of vaccines.
CNCCS SCARL Collezione Nazionale Dei Composti Chimici E Centro Screening and IRBM SpA have patented new serine protease NS3/nonstructural protein 2B (NS3/NS2B) (flavivirus) inhibitors potentially useful for the treatment of West Nile and Zika virus infections.
RQ Biotechnology Ltd. has completed an oversubscribed $115 million (£85.5 million) series A financing to advance its long-acting antibody therapeutics for the prevention of influenza in high-risk and immunocompromised populations.