Xilio Therapeutics Inc. retreated with its lead oncology IL-2 drug, XTX-202, after phase II data indicated stable disease was the best response, prompting the company to reprioritize its pipeline and cut its workforce by 21% – but investors focused more on a $647.5 million IL-12 program deal the company signed with Gilead Sciences Inc., as well as an $11.3 million private placement financing.

Despite numerous marketed anti-seizure medications in the U.S., patients with epilepsy continue to experience breakthrough seizures and tolerability issues compounded with drug interactions and side effects, leaving room for companies like Praxis Precision Medicines Inc. to fill treatment gaps. The Boston-based company presented phase IIa proof-of-concept data March 26 showing that in an evaluation of photo paroxysmal response, its once-daily oral small-molecule treatment, PRAX-628, resulted in a complete response in three epilepsy patients receiving 45 mg of the drug and four patients receiving 15 mg for a combined complete response rate of 88%.

Validating Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s radiopharmaceutical technology and manufacturing capabilities, Astrazeneca plc offered to buy the firm for $2 billion up front in cash, plus a contingent value right that could raise the total deal value by another $400 million.

Technology of genomically recoded organisms borne out of Yale and Stanford university laboratories and housed at Khosla Ventures-backed Pearl Bio received validation on March 12 through a $1 billion deal signed with Merck & Co. Inc. Cambridge, Mass.-based Pearl, which emerged from stealth last year, is eligible for the funds through up-front, option and milestone payments, plus potential royalties on sales of deal-related products that gain approval. The synthetic biology company aims to create a new class of multi-functionalized therapeutics with tunable properties. The deal with Rahway, N.J.-based Merck will focus on new cancer biologics.

Phase I data of oral amycretin, a co-agonist of GLP-1 and amylin receptors from Novo Nordisk A/S, showed a 13.1% reduction in body weight at 12 weeks vs. 1.1% for placebo, pushing shares of the Bagsvaerd, Denmark-based company to their highest levels to date.

The RNAi therapeutic zilebesiran, which was the focus of a 2023 $2.8 billion deal between Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Roche Holding AG, demonstrated significant systolic blood pressure reductions in patients with mild to moderate hypertension who were part of the Kardia-2 phase II study.

Despite what appears to be a recovering public financing market for the biopharma industry, with about $20 billion raised so far through follow-on offerings in the first two months of 2024, emerging companies remain in that precarious position between dwindling cash and their next milestone inflection points.

San Diego-based Kenai Therapeutics Inc. raised $82 million in a series A round to move its disease-modifying cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease into the clinic. The company, which leverages induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, will advance its next-generation allogeneic neuron replacement cell therapies for neurological diseases, specifically completing a clinical proof-of-concept trial for its lead candidate, RNDP-001. The series A was co-led by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Cure Ventures and The Column Group, with participation from Euclidean Capital and Saisei Ventures. Proceeds will enable Kenai to submit an IND for RNDP-001 and bring it through the completion of phase I trials, which are expected to begin sometime in 2024.