Biotech News
Biotechnology
US biotech Incyte today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vega Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Therapeutics, for $1.25 billion. 8 June 2026
Biotechnology
US pharma major Eli Lilly has entered a global research collaboration and licensing agreement with Boston biotech Ascidian Therapeutics to develop RNA exon-editing therapeutics for kidney disease targets. 3 June 2026
Biotechnology
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved US pharma AbbVie’s Decnupaz (pivekimab sunirine-pvzy) for adults with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, a rare and aggressive blood cancer. 28 May 2026
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Biotechnology
USA-based private clinical stage biopharma AmMax Bio and Switzerland’s Lonza, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), today announced a non-exclusive licensing agreement. 9 June 2026
Biotechnology
US cell therapy manufacturing company Cellares has secured a $20 million investment from Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, raising its Series D financing to $277 million and adding a high-profile backer as it scales its automated production network. 9 June 2026
Biotechnology
US clinical-stage biotech Cartesian Therapeutics today announced a strategic licensing agreement with China-based WestGene Biopharma to advance the development of novel in vivo chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies in autoimmune diseases. 9 June 2026
Biotechnology
US pharma majors Merck & Co and Gilead Sciences today announced the discontinuation of the Phase III KEYNOTE-D46/EVOKE-03 study investigating Gilead’s Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab). 9 June 2026
Biotechnology
US life sciences tools company Standard BioTools has agreed to merge with privately-held Treeline Biosciences in an all-stock deal that will turn the business into a clinical-stage biopharma company. 9 June 2026
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Biotechnology
8 June 2026 US biotech Incyte Pharma is nearing a deal for up to $2 billion to buy privately held blood disorder drug developer Star Therapeutics amid a wave of acquisitions by midsized drugmakers looking to supplement their pipelines, according to a Financial Times report.
Biotechnology
31 March 2026 UK biotech Semarion has secured $3.8 million (£2.9 million) to expand manufacturing and commercial reach of its cell-based screening technology, as it moves to convert early pharma interest into broader adoption.
Insights
Biotechnology
Scenic Biotech has progressed enormously since it was founded in 2017 as a spin-out from the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Oxford University by Sebastian Nijman and Thijn Brummelkamp. 20 May 2026
Biotechnology
Europe is not short of science. It is short of the machinery that turns science into large, durable biotech companies.
The continent still has deep academic research, specialist hospitals, public funding, strong disease networks and a patchwork of regional clusters with real depth. From the Nordics to Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, Europe can still generate ideas, companies and clinical expertise. 15 May 2026
Biotechnology
Australia has become a useful early development market for global biotech companies at a time when many are under pressure to spend carefully. It is not trying to rival the USA or Europe as a full development market. Its role is narrower: helping drug developers generate early human data quickly, credibly and with less financial strain. 13 May 2026
Biotechnology
Russia has faced an acute shortage of Abraxane (paclitaxel), a drug, which is produced by US pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb and which is designed for the treatment of patients with breast and pancreatic cancer, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports. 5 May 2026
Biotechnology
April 2026 marked a period of cautious progress in rare disease therapeutics. A series of regulatory approvals, research developments, and policy initiatives signalled continued momentum, particularly in pediatric nephrology and oncology. However, this progress was tempered by regulatory setbacks and ongoing uncertainty, highlighting persistent structural challenges across the rare disease landscape. 2 May 2026
Biotechnology
Over the decades, Germany’s Bayer has played as big a part as any company in the discovery and development of innovative medicines to treat patients around the world. 24 April 2026
Boardroom
US biotech Cocrystal Pharma has appointed James Sapirstein as its chief executive (CEO), effective immediately. 3 June 2026
US late-stage cell therapy developer ProKidney has announced the appointment of Kenneth Locke as chief technical officer. 3 June 2026
Australian oncology-focused biotech Kazia Therapeutics today announced the appointment of James Levine as chief financial officer (CFO), effective June 1, 2026. Mr Levine brings more than two decades of experience across investment banking, executive and financial leadership at publicly traded biotech companies. 2 June 2026
German biotech FundaMental Pharma has appointed Hans Eriksson as chief medical officer, bringing in a depression drug development veteran as it prepares IND-enabling studies for its lead preclinical candidate, FMP374. 2 June 2026
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