Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies and mRNA-based vaccines represent two of the most significant new modalities to gain regulatory approval in the past decade. Capstan Therapeutics Inc. has emerged from stealth with bold ambitions to combine these two approaches in mRNA-programmed cell therapies that will be generated in vivo from patients’ endogenous cells. It has so far secured $165 million in equity funding to pursue that vision.
Rayzebio Inc. raised $160 million in a series D round and unveiled its lead targeted radiopharmaceutical drug candidate, RYZ-101, which has entered clinical development in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors expressing the somatostatin receptor type 2.
Catalym GmbH reported in an oral session at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Paris that its first-in-class growth differentiation factor 15 inhibitor, visugromab, demonstrated preliminary signs of efficacy in a heavily pretreated group of cancer patients who were resistant or refractory to checkpoint inhibitors.
Pleco Therapeutics BV has raised €17.3 million (US$17.1 million) in equity, loan and grant financing to move its lead program into a phase I trial next year. The company, based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, is bringing a fresh perspective to bear on a longstanding therapeutic concept – that cancer can be tackled by metal chelation. Quite a number of agents have entered the clinic over the years, but none as yet has delivered any useful outcome.
Shares in Forma Therapeutics Holdings Inc. gained 51% as Novo Nordisk A/S made a $20-per-share offer that values the firm’s equity at $1.1 billion. The stock (NASDA:FMTX) had closed at $13.40 prior to the disclosure of the bid on Sept. 1. It closed the day at $20.24, up $6.84, suggesting at least some optimistic investors believe the final price could go higher.
3T Biosciences Inc. raised $40 million in a series A funding round to take forward a platform for identifying novel T-cell receptors (TCR) and their targets, which is based on the work of scientific co-founder K. Christopher Garcia of Stanford University.
Etherna Immunotherapies NV has raised €39 million (US$39 million) in new financing as it pivots to an mRNA-platform strategy. It has added a couple of heavy hitters to its board and its roster of investors, indicating that the move has already gained traction in the marketplace.
Ryvu Therapeutics SA aims to move its lead drug candidate RVU-120 into three phase III trials in the first half of next year, to evaluate its potential in acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome, in low-risk MDS, and in a number of solid-tumor indications.
A pilot study of a novel, collagen-based substitute for donated corneal tissue has detected an unexpectedly strong efficacy signal in 20 patients with advanced corneal disease and has set the stage for a larger randomized control trial that could lead to regulatory approval. Fourteen of the phase I trial participants were legally blind prior to undergoing implantation of the device; none were at two years’ follow-up.
Sanofi SA has terminated development of amcenestrant, an oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD), following an interim analysis of data from a phase III trial in estrogen-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer patients. The company has also halted all other studies of the drug, including a phase III study in patients with early stage breast cancer.
