Latest Pharma and Biotech News
Biotechnology
8 July 2025 US CAR-T focused biotech CARGO Therapeutics today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Concentra Biosciences, initially worth roughly $200 million. The news sent CARGO’s stock up as much as 9.6% to $4.81 in pre-market activity.
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Biotechnology
In a policy shift that breaks with the previous administration's broad vaccination campaign, US health authorities have removed the COVID-19 vaccine from the routine immunization schedule for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. 28 May 2025
Pharmaceutical
New York-based neurosciences company Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals yesterday announced Phase IIa results for GM-2505, a novel, rapid-acting 5-HT2A receptor agonist and 5-HT releaser in development for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder (MDD). 28 May 2025
Biotechnology
US biotech Lexeo Therapeutics has secured $80 million from a private placement, giving the company enough capital to push ahead with its cardiac gene therapy pipeline and fund operations into 2028. 28 May 2025
Biotechnology
US biotech royalty firm XOMA Royalty has expanded its interest in mezagitamab, an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody in Phase III development, through a deal worth up to $30 million with Swedish antibody developer BioInvent International. 28 May 2025
Biotechnology
Lupus is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation. It presents in four main forms: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), drug-induced lupus, and neonatal lupus. 28 May 2025
Biotechnology
German biotech TQ Therapeutics today announced the acquisition of Juno Therapeutics GmbH, a cell therapy company, through a share purchase agreement. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 28 May 2025
Biotechnology
French biotech ImCheck Therapeutics is preparing to showcase encouraging interim results for its investigational monoclonal antibody ICT01 at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, highlighting the compound’s potential to improve outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients not eligible for intensive chemotherapy. 27 May 2025
Biotechnology
Swedish biotech Hansa Biopharma is preparing to reduce its headcount by around one-fifth as part of a restructuring plan aimed at sharpening operational focus and reducing costs. 27 May 2025
Biotechnology
The market for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poised for significant growth, projected to surpass $3.9 billion by 2032 across the USA, Europe, and Japan, according to data and analytics group GlobalData. 27 May 2025
Biotechnology
US late-stage biotech Rocket Pharmaceuticals saw its shares plummet as much as 64% to $2.25 in pre-market activity today, after it announced an update related to a trial of RP-A501, its investigational gene therapy for Danon disease, which resulted in a patient death. 27 May 2025
Biotechnology
China’s biopharmaceutical sector experienced a notable increase in oncology drug licensing deals in 2024, particularly for monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), with a combined deal value of $30 billion. 27 May 2025
Biotechnology
Biotech major Biogen and fellow Cambridge, USA-based City Therapeutics, today announced a strategic collaboration to develop select novel RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapies. 27 May 2025
Pharmaceutical
Leading healthcare solutions company Zuellig Pharma has announced that Mounjaro (tirzepatide), Eli Lilly’s blockbuster diabetes and obesity drug, will be launched in Thailand at the end of May 2025. 27 May 2025
Biosimilars
Indian biosimilars developer Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon Ltd , today announced that the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted marketing authorization for its Yesintek, a biosimilar of ustekinumab, which is marketed under the trade name Stelara by us healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) . 27 May 2025
Pharmaceutical
US biotech Syndeio Biosciences has launched with over $90 million in funding and a pipeline of synapse-targeting neurotherapies aimed at treating major depressive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and other central nervous system (CNS) conditions. 27 May 2025
Pharmaceutical
Bachem, a Swiss peptide and oligonucleotide manufacturer, has announced expansion of its multi-site network, launching major investment at sites in Switzerland, the USA and the UK. 27 May 2025
Pharmaceutical
Danish privately-held drugmaker MC2 Therapeutics today announced the appointment of Trine Ahlgreen as chief executive (CEO). 27 May 2025
Pharmaceutical
UK-based biotech C4X Discovery has received an 8 million euro ($9 million) milestone payment from French pharma major Sanofi marking further progress in their joint effort to develop an oral IL-17A inhibitor for inflammatory diseases. 27 May 2025
Pharmaceutical
Japanese drugmaker Eisai today announced that the in-house-discovered and developed orexin receptor antagonist Dayvigo (lemborexant) has been approved in China for the treatment of adults with insomnia, characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and/or sleep maintenance. Eisai plans to launch this medicine in China in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025. 27 May 2025
Biotechnology
UK biotech Nucleome Therapeutics has appointed Bhavna Hunjan as chief business officer, a move that strengthens its leadership as it advances its pipeline of antibody therapies for inflammatory diseases. 27 May 2025
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Biotechnology
Radiant Biotherapeutics, a Canadian biotech advancing multi-specific, multi-affinity antibody (Multabody) therapeutics in cancer and autoimmune diseases, has announced the appointment of Deborah Geraghty as president and chief executive. 9 July 2025
Biotechnology
Dutch privately held Amarna Therapeutics, which specializes in transformative gene therapies announced the formalization of an agreement with biologics manufacturing partner, Sweden’s NorthX Biologics, to accelerate the development of Nimivec, Amarna’s next-generation gene therapy platform targeting immune-mediated diseases. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
Shares of US biopharma Rhythm Pharmaceuticals rose 27.4% to $82.96 in early trading today, as it announced positive top-line results from its Phase II trial evaluating bivamelagon (formerly LB54640), an investigational oral melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonist, in patients with acquired hypothalamic obesity. 9 July 2025
Biotechnology
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a label update with a new recommended titration dosing schedule for Kisunla (donanemab-azbt), Eli Lilly's once-monthly amyloid-targeting therapy for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease (AD), including patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the mild dementia stage of AD, with confirmed amyloid pathology. 9 July 2025
Biotechnology
US clinical-stage biotech ProKidney reported statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful positive top-line results from the full Group 1 modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population of the Phase II REGEN-007 trial evaluating rilparencel in patients with CKD and diabetes. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
US antivirals specialist Gilead Sciences today announced a strategic partnership agreement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) to supply lenacapavir - Gilead's twice-yearly injectable HIV-1 capsid inhibitor - for the prevention of HIV as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have hosted a hybrid workshop on reducing animal testing. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
US pharma giant Merck & Co today revealed it has made a bid to acquire UK-based lung therapy company Verona Pharma, sending the latter’s shares up 20.4% to $104.61 in pre-market activity. 9 July 2025
Biotechnology
Japan’s JCR Pharmaceuticals closed 15% higher after Wednesday’s trading, as it signed a new licensing deal. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
New Jersey, USA-headquartered Champions Oncology, a translational oncology research organization, yesterday announced the full commercial launch of its radiopharmaceutical services platform. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
French biotech Ciloa is joining the race to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, armed with 6.5 million euros ($7.6 million) in public funding and a novel take on an old metabolic target. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
A new analysis from US data analytics firm Phesi has raised concerns about the viability of ongoing Phase III trials in atopic dermatitis (AD), pointing to a rising risk of failure driven by flawed trial design and overreliance on saturated investigator sites. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has filed for European approval of a higher-dose version of its obesity treatment Wegovy (semaglutide), aiming to expand options for patients who need stronger support for weight loss. 9 July 2025
Biotechnology
Radiopharmaceutical biotech Actithera today announced the close of an oversubscribed $75.5 million Series A financing round. 9 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
Donald Trump has escalated his warnings to the pharmaceutical industry with a pledge to introduce import tariffs as high as 200% on drugs produced outside the USA. The US president said companies would be granted a grace period of up to 18 months before the measure takes effect. 9 July 2025
Biotechnology
US oncology-focused biotech Crescent Biopharma has appointed Jan Pinkas as chief scientific officer (CSO). 8 July 2025
Biotechnology
Debra Barker has been named chief medical officer (CMO) at Centauri Therapeutics, a UK immunotherapy company with a proprietary platform technology applicable across a wide range of therapeutic indications. 8 July 2025
Biotechnology
San Francisco, USA-based biotech Centivax, which is developing durable, universal vaccines, today announced the close of a $45 million Series A led by Steve Jurvetson’s Future Ventures, with participation from NFX, BOLD Capital, Base4, Kendall Capital Partners, Amplify Bio, and existing investors. 8 July 2025
Biotechnology
Diagonal Therapeutics, a US biotech focused on correcting dysregulated signaling with clustering antibodies that address the underlying cause of intractable genetic diseases, has announced the appointment of John Lee as chief medical officer (CMO). 8 July 2025
Pharmaceutical
Switzerland-based MetP Pharma, pioneer in nose-to-brain drug delivery for nearly two decades, announced new data highlighting the advantages of its proprietary MetP Technology in delivering neuroactive peptides such as semaglutide directly to the brain via the intranasal route. 8 July 2025
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