Latest Posts

• With Phase 2 Data in Hand, Ovid Eyes Multiple Pivotal Trials for Epilepsy Drug

  Ovid Therapeutics and Takeda Pharmaceutical joined forces three years ago to develop a small molecule into a potential epilepsy drug. That research is starting to pay off as the companies now look ahead to pivotal studies testing that compound in several... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/30/20

• Praxis Precision Medicines Leads Way as Three More Biotechs Prep IPOs

  Praxis Precision Medicines kept mostly quiet about its research on central nervous system disorder (CNS) drugs until May, when it emerged from stealth and revealed $100 million in cumulative financing. Now the company is aiming to raise about that amount... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/28/20

• Galecto Picks Up $64M as Plans for Fibrosis Clinical Trials Move Forward

  Had things turned out differently, scientists at Galecto might be watching their idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug candidate develop in the hands of a big pharmaceutical company. But Bristol Myers Squibb passed on its option to acquire Galecto leaving the biotech to... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/25/20

• Bio Roundup: Grail Acquisition, Libra’s Launch, Tau Trial Results & More

  In biotech, you can go home again. Four years ago, Illumina spun out cancer diagnostics startup Grail. This week, the gene sequencing giant announced it is acquiring Grail in an $8 billion cash and stock deal.

  Grail set out with the... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/25/20

• Monte Rosa Raises $96M for “Glue-Based” Protein Degrading Drugs

  Many drugs work by binding to a protein and blocking it. Technology for eliminating disease-causing proteins altogether remains experimental, but this approach has gained ground in the past year with hundreds of millions of dollars raised and compounds advanced into clinical... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/24/20

• Xconomy Awards On-Demand ‘Meet the Finalists’ Webcast Series Continues This Week

  The 2020 National Xconomy Awards complimentary two-week, 11-part, on-demand Meet the Finalists daily webcast series continues this Tuesday and Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET. Registration is complimentary and includes access to a networking app with already more than 600 life science... Read more »

  Editors9/21/20

• Illumina to Acquire Cancer Diagnostics Developer Grail in $8B Deal

  [Updated, 3:45 pm ET.] Grail is set to be acquired for $8 billion by Illumina, the gene sequencing giant that formed the cancer diagnostics developer and spun it out as a separate company four years ago. The announcement comes... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/21/20

• Bio Roundup: SeaGen Scores, Dyne’s Debut, Microbiome Moves & More

  Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day has spoken openly about acquisitions as a way to build up the company’s drug pipeline. This week, it made its biggest buy yet.

  The $21 billion Immunomedics acquisition brings to Gilead a cancer drug that many... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/18/20

• Moderna CMO Talks COVID-19 Vaccine at the Xcelerate Keynote Series

  The Xcelerate Keynote Series has added Moderna CMO Tal Zaks to the expert lineup of speakers set to present next Monday, Sept. 21.

  As you likely know, Moderna is one of the front-runners in the COVID-19 vaccine race, and we look... Read more »

  Editors9/16/20

• Neogene Therapeutics Grabs $110M to Tackle Solid Tumors With Cell Therapy

  Cell therapy offers another option for addressing the most difficult blood cancer cases, but such treatments, which are engineered from a patient’s own immune cells, don’t yet work on solid tumors. Neogene Therapeutics is developing technology with the potential to bring... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/15/20

• Unity Bio Restructuring Cuts 30% of Staff, Keeps Focus on Eye Drug

  Unity Biotechnology is cutting nearly one third of its staff, a move that comes a month after the biotech’s lead drug candidate failed a mid-stage study in osteoarthritis.

  South San Francisco-based Unity (NASDAQ: UBX) says that the corporate restructuring announced... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/15/20

• Gilead Adds “Cornerstone” Cancer Drug in $21B Immunomedics Buyout

  Gilead Sciences is acquiring Immunomedics in a $21 billion deal, the latest in a string of transactions the company has made to bolster its cancer drug portfolio.

  The acquisition announced Sunday comes five months after Morris Plains, NJ-based Immunomedics won FDA... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/14/20

• Join Xconomy Next Week at the Virtual Xcelerate Keynote Series at Biotech Week Boston

  Presented by Xconomy, the online Xcelerate Keynote Series at Biotech Week Boston on Monday, Sept. 21 places a spotlight on life science leaders who are breaking new ground with methods and solutions in R&D, planning, and production that are improving patient... Read more »

  Editors9/14/20

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• Bio Roundup: COVID-19 Pact, Gavreto Approval, Generative Biology & More

  COVID-19 research efforts are often characterized as a race between companies, a description that reflects the urgency to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. The description is not quite right. A race has one winner and public health officials have... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/11/20

• Satsuma Pharma’s Migraine Drug Fails to Beat Placebo in Phase 3 Test

  [Updated, 7:31 p.m. EDT. See below.] An experimental Satsuma Pharmaceuticals treatment for acute migraine has failed a late-stage clinical trial, dealing a setback to the company’s plans to offer another therapeutic option to the millions of people who suffer... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/10/20

• Grail Files to Go Public; 5 More Life Science Firms Join the IPO Queue

  Grail, a company developing blood tests intended to detect cancer well before symptoms show, is taking its pitch to a broader swath of investors. The diagnostics company is looking ahead to potential commercialization of its technology as early as next year,... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/9/20

• Grifols Moves Deeper Into Proteome R&D With $146M Deal for Alkahest

  Alkahest, a company that analyzes blood proteins to develop therapies that address neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, is set to be acquired by partner Grifols in a $146 million deal.

  Grifols (NASDAQ: GRFS) announced Tuesday that it is acquiring the... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/8/20

• FDA Approves Blueprint Cancer Drug Targeting RET Genetic Signatures

  [Updated, 9/8/2020. See below.] A Blueprint Medicines drug for cancers that carry a certain genetic signature has received FDA approval, making it the latest targeted therapy to pass the regulatory bar this year.

  The late Friday decision for... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/5/20

• AbbVie Strikes Deal for I-Mab Drug With a Potential Edge in CD47 Chase

  The cancer protein CD47 is a hot target for drug developers, but it’s not without issues. Antibody drugs that block this protein can also spark anemia. I-Mab designed its antibody to pose less of an anemia risk and AbbVie, seeing an... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/4/20

• Bio Roundup: Pharma M&A, AbbVie’s Cancer Bet, Biofourmis Bucks & More

  Labor Day is just around the corner and many people are looking forward to a last chance to celebrate the waning days of summer. But ahead of the holiday weekend, biopharmaceutical companies were hard at work closing deals.

  Food conglomerate Nestlé... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/4/20

• Biofourmis Hauls In $100M to Scale Digital Therapeutics Globally

  Biofourmis, a digital therapeutics startup that employs wearable devices and data analytics to help treat patients, has raised $100 million to scale its offerings globally and develop new products that further blur the lines that once clearly separated drugs from medical... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/3/20

• Lumen Bioscience Lands $16M to Engineer “Edible” Antibody Drugs

  If Lumen Bioscience achieves its goals, patients will be able to take its drugs the same way some people supplement breakfast: a spoonful heaped onto a bowl of cereal or mixed into juice. The startup harnesses spirulina, protein-rich cyanobacteria touted by... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/2/20

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• New Podcast and Special Report Explore How AI Is Revolutionizing Drug Discovery and Development

  Learn what’s fueling San Francisco’s boom in AI, big data, and R&D, explore promising investment and partnership opportunities, and align the latest trends and technologies with your business by listening to our podcast and downloading our special report complementing Xconomy’s recent... Read more »

  Editors9/2/20

• Gilead Sciences Places $120M Bet on a Jounce Therapeutics Cancer Drug

  Gilead Sciences is opening up its checkbook yet again to add another cancer therapy to its pipeline, this time committing $120 million to Jounce Therapeutics for rights to an antibody drug approaching clinical testing.

  The Jounce (NASDAQ: JNCE) drug, JTX-1811,... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan9/1/20

• Early Bird Sale for Xcelerate at Biotech Week Boston Ends This Friday

  Don’t miss out on savings for this year’s online Xcelerate Keynote Series at Biotech Week Boston – our early bird sale ends this Friday!

  Speakers include:

  • Jeff Baker – Deputy Director, Office of Biotechnology Products, FDA
  • Michelle McMurry-Heath – President & CEO, BIO
  ... Read more »

  Editors8/31/20

• Nestlé to Swallow Up Peanut Allergy Drug Maker Aimmune in $2.6B Deal

  Aimmune Therapeutics, which this year won the first FDA approval for a food allergy immunotherapy, is set to be acquired by a division of global food giant Nestlé in a deal that values the biopharmaceutical company at $2.6 billion.

  According to... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan8/31/20

• Biotech Roundup: FDA Culpa, Tricida Trips, Freenome’s Funding & More

  Among the casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic: the credibility of government agencies entrusted with protecting public health.

  The FDA this week granted emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma as a treatment for infection by the novel coronavirus. FDA Commissioner Stephen... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan8/28/20

• Kinnate Raises $98M for Human Tests of Targeted Cancer Therapies

  Drugs designed to precisely target cancers with specific genetic signatures have changed the course of disease for many patients. But for the majority, such drugs either don’t work because of innate resistance or they eventually stop working once the cancer develops... Read more »

  Sarah de Crescenzo8/26/20

• Freenome Tacks on $270M to Advance Blood Tests to Find Cancer Early

  The ability to detect early signs of cancer in a patient’s blood could improve prognoses by helping doctors treat the disease before symptoms arise. Freenome, one of the companies racing to commercialize the first such screening test, on Wednesday announced it... Read more »

  Sarah de Crescenzo8/26/20

• Dyne Eyes IPO for R&D of Genetic Medicines for Rare Muscle Diseases

  Not long ago, having early data about how an experimental drug worked in humans was expected of biotechs considering IPOs. Dyne Therapeutics may not reach human testing until 2022, but, like many of its preclinical peers this year, the company is... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan8/26/20

• FDA Rejects Tricida Chronic Kidney Disease Drug, More Data Needed

  Tricida’s bid for speedy approval of a drug for a condition caused by chronic kidney disease has been rejected by the FDA, which is asking for data that may require conducting another clinical trial.

  The South San Francisco-based biotech had tested... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan8/25/20

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