Entries by Thomas Gabrielczyk

Boehringer drops inhaled gene therapy for cystic fibrosis

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Setback for Boehringer Ingelheim: the company has halted development of its inhaled gene therapy BI 3720931 for cystic fibrosis after a phase 1/2 trial failed to deliver efficacy data supporting further progress. While the safety profile met expectations, the programme has now been shelved.

US settlement: Has Bayer untied the Monsanto knot?

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Years of uncertainty surrounding the numerous pending lawsuits against Bayer’s Monsanto unit could now be brought to an end through a costly but capped court settlement. Under the proposed agreement, Bayer would pay up to roughly 7 billion US dollars over around 20 years to resolve claims for damages.

Compass Pathways clears second phase III hurdle for psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression

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The share price of London-based Compass Pathways soared over 30% on Tuesday after the company reported that its synthetic psilocybin formulation COMP360 had met the primary endpoint in the second of two pivotal phase III trials in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), confirming consistent results across 839 patients and clearing the path toward what would be the first regulatory filing of a classic psychedelic for a psychiatric indication.

CubaseBio secures €5.9m to scale 3D spatial transcriptomics

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Swedish startup CubaseBio has raised €5.9 million in blended financing to advance its next-generation 3D spatial transcriptomic technology. Of that total, €3.9 million comes from private capital. Voima Ventures and Nordic Science Investments led the private financing. Illumina Ventures, Almi Invest, Life Science Invest and several genomics-focused private investors also participated.

Biotech Beactica and research institute LISCO secured €2.5M to advance glioblastoma therapy to the clinic

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The European Innovation Council (EIC) has funded the collaborative GLIOBREAK project, bringing together Swedish biotech Beactica Therapeutics and the Belgian KU Leuven Institute for Single-Cell Omics (LISCO) to advance Beactica’s small-molecule candidate, BEA-17, as a precision immunotherapy for glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, which currently has limited treatment options.

Lundbeck’s migraine drug hits phase II goal, though IV-only path narrows commercial prospects

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Denmark-based Lundbeck has reported positive top-line results from the intravenous arm of its phase IIb PROCEED trial of bocunebart (Lu AG09222) in migraine prevention, putting the neuroscience specialist on course for phase III discussions with regulators. The milestone comes after the company was forced to abandon the drug’s subcutaneous formulation last year — a setback that had cast a shadow over the entire PACAP-targeting approach.

Immunic secured US$400 million to conclude phase 3 MS program and prepare for launch

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A late-week surprise from Munich-based Immunic, Inc. (listed on Nasdaq as IMUX): the company has launched a follow-on private placement of up to US$400 million and expects to close the financing later this month. At the same time, the biotech is pressing ahead with its transformation in preparation for the potential commercialisation of its lead asset. Current CEO Daniel Vitt will step back once a successor with proven market-launch expertise has been appointed.