Breye Therapeutics ApS reported positive phase Ib data for its oral gap junction modifier drug danegaptide in diabetic retinopathy and is now raising a €50 million (US$59.6 million) series A round to move into the next phase of development.

The scale of the $8.5 billion deal signed between Innovent Biologics Inc. and Eli Lilly and Co. is eye-catching, but the structure is the real signal. By shifting phase II oncology development to China while reserving global rights ex-greater China, the partners are testing a model that could reshape how multinational drugmakers source innovation as well as how Chinese biotechs create value.

The neural and neuroimmune mechanisms behind myocardial infarction-triggered cardiac events, immune responses and activation of the nervous system remain largely unexplored. The heart and the brain talk to each other in what is known as cardioception. This communication between the two organs is orchestrated through neurons of the vagus nerve or the dorsal root ganglia, among others. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego have now shown that the dynamics of these interactions may play a crucial role in modulating inflammation, repair and cardiac functioning.

Bayer AG’s oral factor XIa inhibitor asundexian significantly reduced ischemic stroke by 26% in patients following a noncardioembolic ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack in the phase III Oceanic-Stroke study.