As the six-month interim analysis of phase II data for ATA-199 in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) nears, investors in Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. – not to mention patients – are growing more intrigued by the prospect, an off-the-shelf T-cell candidate that targets Epstein Barr virus-infected B cells and plasma cells in the central nervous system.

Bone Therapeutics SA has entered an exclusive three-month discussion period with Medsenic SAS, which could culminate in a reverse merger. The potential transaction represents a lifeline for the troubled Belgian cell therapy developer, which is running out of cash and which has been more or less abandoned by its shareholders.