The Alphafold machine learning system for predicting a protein’s structure from its amino acid sequence has been adapted to make it possible to design de novo proteins that fold in a particular way and bind to prespecified target proteins. The sister system, called Alphadesign, works by generating random strings of amino acids, using Alphafold to predict their structure, and then iteratively optimizing the design.

Newco Elkedonia SAS has raised €11 million (US$12.7 million) in a seed round, which will fund it to take a potentially first-in-class ELK-1 inhibitor into the clinic in the treatment of refractory depression. ELK-1 plays a pivotal role in neuroplasticity and in reward circuits in the brain, which when disrupted can lead to depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mosanna Therapeutics secured $80 million in a series A round to develop MOS-118 as a treatment for the nearly 1 billion people globally with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The company has completed the formulation work to make the drug into a nasal spray and the initial proof-of-concept animal studies and is now ready to enter clinical trials in patients with OSA.

Corestemchemon Inc. is planning to file a BLA for Neuronata-R (lenzumestrocel) by the end of 2025 to gain accelerated approval from the U.S. FDA, company officials confirmed to BioWorld during a June 2 interview. Neuronata-R is an autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy that first gained approval in South Korea in 2014 to delay the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Turning the human body into a biofactory of precision protein therapeutics is the focus of newly launched Signify Bio, which emerged with an oversubscribed $15 million initial financing to advance three platforms with broad potential across therapeutic areas.

Epimab Biotherapeutics Inc. licensed out a development-ready KLK2/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager (TCE) for advanced prostate cancer to Juri Biosciences Inc. through a potential $210 million deal.

Alteogen Inc. completed a merger between two subsidiaries – Altos Biologics Inc. and Alteogen Healthcare Inc. – branding the new entity as Alteogen Biologics Inc.

Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd. plans to establish a new holding company and to spin off its biosimilar division, Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., by October. The corporate restructuring will draw clear lines between Samsung Biologics’ CDMO operations and Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar business.

A drug that failed in a phase III trial in 2019 is being brought back to the clinic by Repronovo SA, a fertility and women’s health startup that has raised $65 million in a series A. The money will fund a phase II study of nolasiban in improving success rates in assisted reproductive technology, the same indication as the previous phase III failure.