CSL Ltd. is out-licensing its interleukin-6 (IL-6) monoclonal antibody, clazakizumab, to Eli Lilly and Co. in a deal that brings CSL $100 million in up-front fees. A CSL spokesperson told BioWorld the deal includes undisclosed milestone payments and sales-based royalties. CSL will retain rights to develop and commercialize clazakizumab for prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with end-stage kidney disease, while Lilly will explore the MAb in all other indications.

A world-first pediatric mRNA cancer vaccine trial is launching in Australia that could open new possibilities for children with aggressive brain tumors.

A project that started as a bioreactor to assist astronauts in deep space to keep medications safe in a microgravity environment could help pharma companies model how drugs behave in the human body.

After raising AU$29 million (US$19.44 million) in a series A round, Rage Biotech Pty Ltd. is beginning phase I trials of its lead candidate, RB-042, an inhaled splice-switching oligonucleotide for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other inflammatory lung diseases.

Kazia Therapeutics Ltd. raised AU$50 million (US$33.15 million) in a private placement of equity securities to advance lead candidate paxalisib, a brain-penetrant dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor in clinical trials for brain cancer and advanced breast cancer.

Immutep Ltd.’s stock surged 31% on Tuesday morning following the news that it out-licensed rights to Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. to develop and commercialize eftilagimod (IMP-321, efti) in selected territories in a deal worth AU$528.4 million (US$349.5 million).

Australian researchers have found a drug combination that can bypass the cellular defenses in neuroblastoma that lead to relapse, and the discovery could lead to better treatment strategies for children whose cancers have stopped responding to standard chemotherapy.

Myrio Therapeutics Pty Ltd. has been able to accomplish something no other company has yet been able to crack: to develop binders where both the affinity and the specificity can be increased.

Aussie radiopharma company Advancell Co. Ltd. unveiled promising early clinical data that could redefine how advanced prostate cancer is treated by targeted alpha therapies in the radiopharmaceutical space.

Ena Respiratory Pty Ltd. raised an AU$34 million (US$22.4 million) series B round to advance INNA-051, its nasal spray for symptomatic viral respiratory infections, to phase II trials. New investors in the Melbourne-headquartered company include the Gates Foundation and Flu Lab. Existing investors Brandon Capital, Uniseed and Stoic Venture Capital also participated in the round.