Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s miss on a key phase II ambulatory endpoint in its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) trial may have been caused by a dramatic disparity in functional ability at baseline among older vs. younger patients afflicted with the progressively worsening disorder. In any case, Wall Street had knives out, carving 51% of the value away from shares (NASDAQ:SRPT) of the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm, which closed at $82.29, a loss of $86.66, or 51%. Read More
Chimerix Inc., which already has COVID-19 and smallpox therapeutics in clinical trials, has acquired privately held Oncoceutics Inc., bringing ONC-201, a small-molecule dopamine receptor D2 antagonist and caseinolytic protease agonist for treating recurrent gliomas harboring the H3 K27M mutation, into the fold. Read More
Forge Therapeutics Inc. spinout Blacksmith Medicines Inc. said Eli Lilly and Co. has committed up to $300 million in milestone payments to back its creation of five new immuno-oncology and inflammation-focused medicines targeting human metalloenzymes. Read More
San Diego area startup Endeavor Biomedicines Inc. launched in January 2021, with a $62 million series A financing from Omega Funds, Longitude Capital and its own management team. The company is working on one asset, ENV-101 or taladegib, a small-molecule inhibitor targeting the Hedgehog pathway, which it plans to develop for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Read More
When uncertainty strikes, survival instincts flourish. That is exactly how the biopharma industry weathered 2020 and the global spread of the devastating SARS-CoV-2 virus. “The theme for 2020 was, ‘If the capital is there, take it. It’s an uncertain future’,” said Gabriel Cavazos, managing director in investment banking at SVB Leerink. Read More
HONG KONG - U.S. and China-based Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. closed an $87 million series C financing round that will pave the way for the company’s pipeline of candidates to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Read More
LONDON – Theolytics Ltd. raised $6.8 million in a series A round to further develop its platform technology and advance the lead oncolytic virus program toward the clinic. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global drug submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Aquestive, Bayer, Glaxosmithkline, Medicure, Merus, Moderna, Neoleukin. Read More
