Author Archive for: TG

UK biotech is heading into 2026 with a growing sense of momentum, even as the sector continues to navigate one of the most selective investment climates in years.

Unexpected changes at the top of Rentschler Biopharma: CEO Benedikt von Braunmühl and the Supervisory Board agreed on a swift separation in January, and COO Christiane Bardroff is also set to leave the biopharma manufacturer based in Laupheim, Baden-Württemberg, in the near future. The message from within the company: stay calm, it won´t knock us off course.

Infinitopes, a U.K. cancer vaccine biotech spun out of Cancer Research U.K. and the University of Oxford, has expanded its seed round to $35.1 million after a second close that added about $15.4 million to existing commitments. The financing was co-led by Octopus Ventures and new investor Amplify Bio. The company says the funds will support its upcoming first-in-human phase 1/2a VISTA trial of its lead therapeutic vaccine, ITOP1, aimed at reducing post-surgical recurrence in oesophageal cancer.

With the departure of the current CEO of diagnostics company Qiagen NV (Venlo, Netherlands/Hilden, Germany) and before a new chief executive has been identified and presented, there appears to be activity at senior management level, according to Bloomberg, around whether a sale of the company or the admission of a major strategic partner could be an alternative. These rumours have sent the share price sharply higher.

GSK has agreed to acquire California-based RAPT Therapeutics in a deal valued at $2.2 billion (€ 1.88 billion), expanding its respiratory, immunology and inflammation portfolio with a late-stage food allergy candidate. The transaction gives GSK global rights to ozureprubart, a long-acting anti-IgE monoclonal antibody now in phase IIb clinical development.