Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds and venBio Partners are contributing up to $40 million to a spinout of genetic medicine maker Lexeo Therapeutics to that will aim to advance drugs for heart conditions.
Daiichi Sankyo is stepping up its interest in RNA therapies, teaming with Nosis Biosciences to design drug candidates capable of reaching targets beyond the liver.
The Japanese drugmaker is best known for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), having secured deals with AstraZeneca and Merck & Co. and spawned the blockbuster Enhertu.
Voyager Therapeutics’ progress with drug candidates targeting tau marks a step in how the industry is walking multiple paths toward new therapeutic options.
The St. Louis, MO-based test has 94% sensitivity for colorectal cancer detection. Colosense said it aims to transform gastrointestinal diagnostics, leveraging RNA technology for higher accuracy and ease of use.
Pharma giant GSK is buying into Rgenta Therapeutics’ mission to develop a pipeline of oral RNA-targeting small molecules. The new partners aim to develop new splice modulators for multiple disease areas, including oncology, with Rgenta able to receive up to nearly $500 million biobucks per target.
The 2020s are shaping up to be a golden age for RNA. From COVID-19 vaccines to rare disease treatments, RNA has become key to tackling many of biotech’s tough obstacles.
Stoke Therapeutics is bringing that RNA revolution to difficult neurological diseases that primarily affect children, including the severe form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome, the genetic cause of which has only recently been understood, said Stoke CEO Dr. Ed Kaye.
RNA biotech CAMP4 Therapeutics has marked out plans for a $67 million IPO, with inflammation-focused Upstream Bio pegging its own ambitions at $182 million.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech is using what it calls ligand-siRNA conjugates to reach drug targets in the kidney, which historically have been difficult to reach with RNA therapies.
Eli Lilly has opened a $700 million R&D center in the Boston Seaport, boosting its RNA and DNA research capabilities and expanding its biotech-hosting Gateway Labs to the East Coast for the first time.
BioNTech and Triastek have entered a research partnership and platform technology licence agreement focusing on the development of 3D-printed oral RNA therapeutics.
The companies will create RNA therapeutics to be delivered orally, using 3D printing technology.