Company News

A new biotech company has been launched in Seattle, US, and Singapore, with the goal of advancing the technology for antibody-drug conjugates - treatments for cancer that use an antibody and linker to deliver a cytotoxic agent to cancer cells. The company, Callio Therapeutics Inc, is developing ADCs that would be equipped with more than one cytotoxic payload. The company says this structure could increase the efficacy of ADCs, a drug class which is attracting developers across the industry.

Valneva SE, developer of the world’s first vaccine against chikungunya virus, is forecasting higher sales this year and more investment in R&D as it advances new products in the clinic against infectious diseases. Product sales this year are expected to reach €170 to €180 million, up from €163.3 million in 2024. This will drive positive cash flow for the business enabling an increase in R&D spending to between €90 to €100 million, up from €74.1 million in 2024.

InflaRx NV has extended its cash runway into 2027 following a public share offering in February that raised €28.7 million. The forecast was issued on 20 March in the German company’s 2024 annual report which showed an operating loss of €53 million on the back of significant outlays for research and development. R&D expenditure was €35.4 million, more than twice the sums spent to cover the company’s other business expenses. Founded in 2007, InflaRx is building a portfolio of drugs for inflammatory diseases that target the complement system, a key component of the innate immune system.

Zealand Pharma A/S is partnering with the Roche Group to co-develop a candidate drug for obesity discovered by the Danish company with potential as both a monotherapy and in combination with other drugs. This includes in combination with an obesity asset owned by Roche. The drug is petrelintide, a long-acting amylin analogue which has delivered reductions in body weight of up to a mean 8.6% in early clinical studies. Amylin is a peptide hormone that restores sensitivity to leptin, a satiety hormone that enables people to feel naturally full after having eaten a meal.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new allogeneic encapsulated, cell-based gene therapy for a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects the macula, a portion of the eye that processes central vision. The product, Encelto (revakinagene taroretcel) is a therapy that delivers a recombinant protein to the retina to slow down the progression of the disease. Delivery is by way of a surgical intravitreal implant by an ophthalmologist.

A UK biotech launched in 2023 to use protein degradation technology to develop new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases has raised $31 million in seed funding from a selection of UK and US investors. The company, TRIMTECH Therapeutics Ltd, has a pipeline of small molecule candidate therapies for disorders including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases. The drugs are intended to target the body’s ubiquitin-proteasome system to mark proteins for degradation. The proteins are toxic aggregates associated with a range of neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders.

UK-based Centauri Therapeutics Ltd has selected a lead compound for clinical development capping a decade of research into potential agents for treating serious bacterial infections. The compound, as yet unnamed, has been designed to target Gram-negative infections in the lung. Infections from Gram-negative bacteria are typically difficult to treat because the bacteria are surrounded by a cell wall in addition to an outer membrane containing a complex molecule known as a lipopolysaccharide. By comparison, Gram-positive bacteria do not have this outer membrane.

An Israeli medical device company has been sold to Boston Scientific Corp of the US concurrent with the start of a pivotal trial intended to confirm the effectiveness of its lead product for hypertension. SoniVie Ltd has developed an intravascular device for renal denervation procedures. These procedures reduce activity in the renal nerves in the kidneys in order to help lower blood pressure. France-based Andera Partners has been a venture investor in the company since 2023. Separately, Boston Scientific has been a minority shareholder.

A new gene therapy has been given a positive opinion by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), a rare skin disease. The therapy, Vyjuvek (beremagene geperpavec), has been cleared for the treatment of the disease in patients of all ages.

A new small molecule combination treatment for cystic fibrosis has been given a positive opinion by the European Medicines Agency – expanding the repertoire of protein modulators for treating this disease. The combination, Kaftrio (ivacaftor/tezacaftor/elexacaftor) and Kalydeco (ivacaftor), was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. It modulates the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein which is produced by a gene of the same name.