Neuropsychiatry specialist, Exciva GmbH raised €51 million (US$59.9 million) in a series B round to fund a phase II/III trial of Deraphan, a combination therapy for treating agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
A new systematic review and meta-analysis of studies looking at a possible association between Tylenol (acetaminophen) use in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders in children concludes there is no evidence of any meaningful risk. The study was carried out by researchers in the U.K., Italy, Sweden and Norway, in response to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy saying last September that there is a link. Unless medically necessary, it is “irresponsible” to take Tylenol during pregnancy, Kennedy said.
At a pair of panels on developing and selling drugs in Europe at the Biotech Showcase 2026 meeting in San Francisco, experts discussed the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the European drug development scene.
The EMA had its second busiest year ever in 2025, approving 104 drugs, of which 38 had a new active substance. Sixteen of these are for treating rare diseases, and four are advanced therapy medicinal products.
Microbiome specialist Enterobiotix Ltd. is in the throes of raising a new round of funding for a phase IIb trial after reporting positive results from the phase IIa study of EBX-102-02, an oral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Newco Tecregen AG has raised CHF10 million (US$12.5 million) to advance a novel way of regenerating the thymus in order to boost T-cell production and stimulate recovery of the immune system following stem cell transplants and chemo- and radiotherapy.
The U.S. FDA signaled during a Type B meeting that existing data could support a BLA filing for Moonlake Immunotherapeutics AG’s sonelokimab to treat the skin disease hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), despite one of two pivotal phase III trials missing the mark.
There are two significant messages for companies developing and profiting from obesity drugs in a meta-analysis of clinical trials examining the extent of weight regain after treatment stops. First, people taking obesity medication regain weight four times faster on average than those who lose weight through behavioral diet and exercise programs; and second, poor tolerability leads to poor adherence.
As widely expected, GSK plc and Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported positive findings from two pivotal trials testing bepirovirsen in chronic hepatitis B, showing the antisense oligonucleotide therapy achieved a statistically and clinically meaningful functional cure rate, indicating a potential transition in CHB treatment beyond the current viral suppression-focused standard of care.
Amgen Inc. has swooped on two European cancer specialists, buying Dark Blue Therapeutics Ltd. for up to $840 million plus royalties, and sealing a $618 million license agreement with Disco Pharmaceuticals GmbH for rights to a novel cancer cell surface target.