Plus, news about Beam Therapeutics, Pfizer’s Braftovi regimen, Lonestar Medicines, the NOFLU vaccine consortium and Zura Bio:
🪓 Accent axes DHX9 inhibitor study:
The biotech
terminated
the Phase 1/2 cancer study of ATX-559. The company attributed the culling to an “adverse event profile,” but a spokesperson declined to provide further details on the side effect issues. The Boston-area biotech is “evaluating strategic options” for the drug, the spokesperson said, adding that the move does not impact any employees. Accent is also in the clinic with a solid tumor KIF18A inhibitor labeled ATX-295. It last disclosed a
$75 million Series C
in January 2024.
— Kyle LaHucik
🐺 Werewolf to explore sale, merger options as cash runs low:
The cancer biotech, which went public in 2021, will “explore a full range of strategic alternatives,” it
said
Tuesday. The company has been working on cytokine therapies for cancer. —
Lei Lei Wu
🟢 Pfizer to license Beam liver program:
Pfizer no longer has any gene therapies in its pipeline, but it could now foster a gene editing candidate. At the end of Pfizer’s
2021 base editing pact
for rare genetic diseases with Beam last year, Pfizer opted to license a liver-targeted asset for which it will be responsible for in R&D, all the way to market. Beam has the option to co-develop and co-commercialize the unnamed asset at the end of Phase 1/2 studies, according to Beam’s earnings report Tuesday. —
Lei Lei Wu
🟢 FDA converts Pfizer’s Braftovi regimen to full approval in colorectal cancer:
The
combination
of Braftovi, a targeted drug for patients with BRAF V600E mutations, plus Lilly’s Erbitux and chemotherapy had previously been granted accelerated approval by the FDA for first-line metastatic colorectal cancer patients in December 2024. —
Lei Lei Wu
💰 Lonestar Medicines nabs money:
The Boston-based startup has sold $25 million so far in a $45 million offering, according to an SEC
filing
. The biotech appears to be linked to Sera Medicines, a biologics accelerator that has churned out companies such as
Navigator Medicines
and
Tenet Medicines
. Sera CEO Stephen Basil Thomas is listed as the CEO of Lonestar on the company’s regulatory filing.
— Kyle LaHucik
💉 European vaccine consortium:
The European Health and Digital Executive Agency has
awarded
a €13 million contract, which could increase up to €148 million, to a vaccine consortium called NOFLU. NOFLU consists of seven European vaccine developers, including Novo Nordisk’s Foundation Initiative for Vaccines and Immunity. The initial contract will fund a Phase 1 study in Copenhagen using Ethris’ mRNA vaccine technology to develop an influenza vaccine. —
Anna Brown
💵 Zura Bio’s $125M offering:
The Nevada biotech, working in the autoimmune and inflammatory diseases field,
priced
the offering a few days after
adding
Mark Eisner and Ajay Nirula to its board. Zura’s shares
$ZURA
are up 27% year-to-date.
— Kyle LaHucik
