As advances are made by bustling drug developers at work in the Wingless-related integration site (Wnt) pathway, other research is yielding new discoveries as well. Among the closely watched industry players in Wnt are Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Merck & Co. Inc., and Surrozen Inc.
Biogen Inc. hardly blinked at the competition faced by Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. as the two companies sealed a deal whereby the former has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of the latter for $41 each, or about $5.6 billion.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Spark Therapeutics Inc. tested subretinal NRF2 gene therapy in dry AMD models to investigate whether it could relieve oxidative stress and inflammation.
Fannin Partners LLC has been awarded a $300,000 phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to advance a first-in-class, non-VEGF-targeted therapeutic for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients not responding to anti-VEGF therapies.
Coave Therapeutics SA has nominated a lead gene therapy program, CoTx-101, for the treatment of retinal vascular diseases, such as wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.
Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) play a central role in how retinal cells respond to low oxygen, but their chronic activation has been linked to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and related retinal disorders.
Cirrus Therapeutics Inc. has closed an $11 million seed financing to advance its pipeline of gene and cell therapies designed to preserve sight and extend ocular healthspan in patients with chronic blinding diseases.
To say the team at Ollin Biosciences Inc. has some experience in ophthalmology would be an understatement. The company, which emerged from stealth with $100 million in venture capital and two in-licensed assets with plans to add more, brings to the table years of expertise from work on blockbuster retinal disease drugs Lucentis (ranibizumab, Roche AG) and Vabysmo (faricimab, Roche AG).
