Sidewinder’s bispecific ADC approach draws $137M series B
Founded amid the booming next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space, Sidewinder Therapeutics Inc. has emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed $137 million series B round and plans to advance a lead program into the clinic in 2027.

Sidewinder’s bispecific ADC approach draws $137M series B
Founded amid the booming next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space, Sidewinder Therapeutics Inc. has emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed $137 million series B round and plans to advance a lead program into the clinic in 2027.
J&J introduces Varipulse Pro to Europe after CE mark
Johnson & Johnson launched its latest pulsed field ablation (PFA) catheter, Varipulse Pro, in Europe following CE mark approval, bringing another option to electrophysiologists looking to adopt PFA technology. The system features a new pulse sequence with a lower temperature profile and enables ablation that is five times faster than the previous sequence, while achieving equivalent lesions. It represents another significant development in the rapidly evolving PFA market that has transformed cardiac ablation treatment.
UK formalizes zero tariffs deal with US, will pay more for drugs
The U.S. confirmed the agreement in principle made last December to exempt U.K. pharmaceuticals from import tariffs, as the U.K government put its commitment to spend more on patented drugs into effect.
Merck Wnt first, Surrozen goes next in AMD, DME
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.
Today's news in brief
BioWorld briefs for April 8, 2026.
New China biotech Syneron chases macrocycle frontier
Syneron Bio is emerging as one of the most heavily backed new entrants in the macrocyclic peptide space, raising more than $250 million in venture funding and securing a multibillion-dollar deal with Astrazeneca plc as it builds a platform spanning several of the most competitive frontiers in drug development.
Ubl to step down from PhRMA
After more than a decade at the helm of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Stephen Ubl said he plans to step down as president and CEO of the trade organization at the end of the year.
Smart contact lens delivers adaptative glaucoma therapy
A smart polymer contact lens measures intraocular pressure (IOP) in real time and automatically releases medication into the eye when IOP goes beyond a critical limit. This technological advance, developed by scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, could enable personalized glaucoma therapy.
Best of BioWorld: Q1
A selection of top news from January through March 2026.

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The opioid crisis may not be front and center anymore, but it’s raging still. Elysium Therapeutics Inc. CEO Greg Sturmer talks about his firm’s candidate for a solution to the medical and societal problem.

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Analysis and data insight

VC activity drives March med-tech financings to $2.4B
Financings
Total med-tech financings reached $8.54 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, reflecting a modest pullback from $9.33 billion in the same period of 2025 but remaining well above previous years. The Q1 2026 total exceeds the $6.45 billion recorded in Q1 2024 and $4.69 billion in Q1 2023,...
Kennedy sidestepping court order sidelining ACIP?
Medical technology
Don’t like a court order? Sidestep it. That seems to be the idea behind U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy’s latest changes to his renewal of the charter for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Biopharma financings nearly double vs. 2025 to $25.1B
Financings
Total biopharma financings reached $25.14 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, nearly doubling the $13.12 billion in the Q1 2025. The early 2026 total comes in above the $13.19 billion recorded in 2023 and $13.66 billion in 2022, though it remains below the $38.27 billion during the same...
Circuit split forming over state 340B laws
Regulatory
Do state laws requiring drug companies to give steep 340B drug discounts to an unlimited number of contract pharmacies, with no claims data required, interfere with a longstanding contract between the U.S. Congress and biopharma? Or do such laws merely flex states’ authority over pharmacy practices...

Financings

Stipple launches with $100M for novel oncology targets
Newco news
Stipple Bio Inc. raised $100 million in a series A financing to support progression of the company’s lead drug, STP-100, an antibody-drug conjugate that binds an undisclosed target, and the company’s Pointillist discovery platform.

Medical technology

Med-tech players join efforts to tackle UK PAD amputations
Cardiovascular
With cases of peripheral artery disease (PAD) rising across the U.K., and lower limb amputations continuing to increase, med-tech companies joined forces with parliamentarians and health care professionals to push for urgent reform of the vascular sector.

US FDA looks to advance use of DHTs in drug trials
Regulatory
Seeking to increase their understanding of the opportunities and challenges of using digital health technologies (DHTs) in drug trials, the U.S. FDA’s CBER and CDER are requesting public feedback to help inform new guidance as the technologies continue to advance.
Supreme Court shuts the door to three life sciences petitions
Regulatory
What do a patent dispute over a CRISPR/Cas system, a rejected whistleblower case involving lab tests and a vaccine injury claim parading as multidistrict tort litigation have in common? All three were denied cert in the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest orders list.

Newco news

Sononeu wins $5.2M ARPA-H grant for ultrasound-activated therapeutics
Neurology/psychiatric
Newco Sononeu Inc. has launched to translate more than a decade of basic research in controlling cells with ultrasound into novel, non-invasive therapies for conditions including peripheral and diabetic neuropathy.
One-carbon has new approach to starving tumors of nucleotides
Cancer
Swedish startup One-carbon Therapeutics AB is going after solid tumors with an approach that looks similar to synthetic lethals to some people, and to chemotherapy to others. But One-carbon CEO Ana Slipicevic said that TH-9619, the company’s first-in-class inhibitor of the enzyme MTHFD1/2, is...
Immutrin raises £65M series A to take another run at reversing amyloidosis
Financings
Newco Immutrin Ltd. has raised £65 million (US$86.9 million) in a series A to take its lead antibody program through to clinical proof of concept in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.
Oryon emerges with autologous stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s
Clinical
Oryon Cell Therapies, named after the Orion constellation used for navigation at night, emerged from stealth mode to announce a new round of funding and to present data from the phase Ib/IIa study of its neuron replacement therapy in patients with Parkinson’s disease at the 20th International...
Excalipoint closes $68.7M seed round for cancer T-cell engagers
Financings
Excalipoint Therapeutics Inc. launched with an oversubscribed $68.7 million seed financing round to advance a portfolio of T-cell engagers for solid tumors, marking one of the largest early stage financings in China biotech history.

U.S.

Five-drug VIPOR regimen shows promise in aggressive blood cancer
Clinical
Deep molecular advances are enabling precision medicine for the field of hematology, Wyndham Wilson said during a plenary session at the 2026 Korean Society of Hematology International Conference March 26.

Europe

EMA to withdraw approval for Siga’s tecovirimat in treating mpox
Regulatory
As expected, the EMA is recommending withdrawal of the mpox indication for Siga Technologies Inc.’s tecovirimat, whilst maintaining its approval as a treatment for smallpox, cowpox and adverse reactions to vaccinia vaccines.

UK’s MHRA sets out new scheme to promote replacement of animal models
MHRA
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is to offer an early review of nonanimal data to give companies more confidence that evidence generated with new approach methodologies, such as organoids and microphysiological systems, will be accepted as part of marketing...
CMR works with Nvidia to transform surgical robotics platforms
Medical technology
CMR Surgical Ltd.’s participation in Nvidia’s Physical AI health care robotics initiative is expected to accelerate the development of the next generation of intelligent surgical robotic systems powered by data, simulation and AI. As demand for minimally invasive procedures grows, more companies...

Clinical

Amplia halts enrollment in phase II pancreatic cancer trial
Cancer
Amplia Therapeutics Ltd. has halted recruitment in its phase II Amplicity trial in advanced pancreatic cancer due to three dose-limiting toxicities related to the chemotherapy regimen, modified FOLFIRINOX (mFOLFIRINOX), which is being administered...
Oral ‘roid void in PPD? Lipocine MINI bike may have wheels
Neurology/psychiatric
Hopes in postpartum depression (PPD) with an oral version of brexanolone – a synthetic formulation of the endogenous neurosteroid allopregnanolone, approved by the U.S. FDA in 2019 when given intravenously for PPD – were dashed, at least near...
Assay what? Eyes on Pepgen’s DM1 phase II
Analysis and data insight
Phase II data disclosed March 31 by Pepgen Inc. in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) hobbled the stock but might have been much different if not for one outlier in the 5-mg/kg multiple ascending dose cohort of the ongoing phase II Freedom2-DM1 trial...
Simcere’s rademikibart meets phase III endpoints in atopic dermatitis
Dermatologic
Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s monoclonal antibody, rademikibart (CBP-201), met the primary endpoint in a Chinese phase III study in adults and adolescents with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.
Phase III wins lift shares of Compass, Palvella and Bridgebio in February
Analysis and data insight
BioWorld tracked 152 clinical trial readouts across phases I through III in February 2026, up from 144 in January but down from 215 in December. Of those, 20 phase III trials reported positive results, while one failed to meet key endpoints. By...
INHBE inhibitions? Data from Wave send ripples
Analysis and data insight
The debated and ultimately stock-denting March 26 news from Wave Life Sciences Inc. pushed into the spotlight other firms working with INHBE and activin E.

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