Corner Therapeutics Inc. raised $54 million in a series A financing to create vaccines to protect against cancer and infectious diseases by helping the immune system engineer T cells. The company’s core interest is in advancements in immunotherapy through direct manipulation of T cells, which are the “keys to the kingdom for any cancer therapy,” Nick Seaver, Corner’s chief business officer, told BioWorld.

Newco Outrun Therapeutics Ltd. has raised $10 million in a seed round to develop small-molecule E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitors that prevent programmed protein degradation. The lead program targeting an E3 ligase that tags a tumor suppressor protein for destruction will now advance to preclinical development.

Led by executives who helmed The Medicines Co., Metsera Inc. has launched with $290 million in financing to develop drugs for treating weight loss, obesity-related conditions and metabolic diseases. The company is stepping into high profile and lucrative glucagon-like peptide-1 territory forged by Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) for chronic weight management and Novo Nordisk A/S’s Wegovy (semaglutide), also approved for long-term weight management.

Butterfly Network Inc. expanded its collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Global Ultrasound Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to increase access to maternal/fetal ultrasound technology. The program will bring 500 IQ+ systems and ultrasound training to six provinces in South Africa, following a successful introduction in late 2022 in Kenya.

On the heels of a $4.6 million series A round in December 2023, cell therapy company Rxcell Inc. is planning to raise another $15 million in 2024 to take its iPSC-derived photoreceptors to the clinic for retinitis pigmentosa and other degenerative diseases of the retina.

On the heels of a $4.6 million series A round in December 2023, cell therapy company Rxcell Inc. is planning to raise another $15 million in 2024 to take its iPSC-derived photoreceptors to the clinic for retinitis pigmentosa and other degenerative diseases of the retina.

On the heels of a $4.6 million series A round in December 2023, cell therapy company Rxcell Inc. is planning to raise another $15 million in 2024 to take its iPSC-derived photoreceptors to the clinic for retinitis pigmentosa and other degenerative diseases of the retina.

With a $128 million series A financing, Diagonal Therapeutics Inc. launched to develop its lead program using agonist antibodies for treating, among other indications, the rare disease hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. The antibodies are designed to activate a receptor complex in the TGF-β superfamily genetically impaired in patients with the bleeding disorder. Diagonal also is developing a treatment for the orphan disease pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Addex Therapeutics has offloaded its portfolio of preclinical allosteric modulation drugs into Neurosterix, a new company that arrives on the scene with a $63 million series A round.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is recognized worldwide for its debilitating symptoms of declining cognitive function and gradual memory loss. What remains less clear is exactly what causes the neurodegenerative disease, and how to treat it. “Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by two key pathologies – beta-amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles.” Seung-Yong Yoon, CEO of Adel Inc., told BioWorld. “Adel is looking to develop a tau-targeting drug, considering tau has been more correlated with AD symptom progression, and the industry’s need for tau pipelines.”