Pexopiprant

After getting beaten up by investors over the key failure of its lead drug GB001, Gossamer had already indicated that they thought they could move ahead in asthma, though likely through a partnership. And the biotech is pushing forward on that front, according to a Q4 statement today, following talks with regulators. The company reported: Gossamer engaged with the FDA and the EMA about the clinical development path in asthma, and based off those interactions, Gossamer believes that there is a viable clinical development path for GB001, or its backup molecule, in asthma. Gossamer does not currently plan to move forward with GB001, or its backup molecule, in further clinical trials without a partner. That could prove a tough deal to complete, though, after Novartis failed with a similar therapy. In addition, asthma remains a crowded R&D field, with several top players in the mix. — John Carroll Cullgen gets $50M Series B for protein degraders A little less than three years since pulling in a $15 million round, Cullgen now has some new funds to play with. The San Diego and Shanghai-based company closed a $50 million Series B on Thursday as it continues its work in the protein degradation field. This cash will support further development of Cullgen’s platform, as well as fund pipeline programs for targeted protein degraders in oncology and other diseases. Ying Luo There’s also an IND coming later this year for Cullgen’s lead program, chairman Ying Luo said in a statement. The candidate “is a TRK protein degrader for cancer and other disease applications,” he said. Luo added, “We plan to utilize the new capital to help advance this program into human clinical studies, as well as advance our other pipeline products closer to human clinical studies.” Five new investors have backed the company, including 3E Bioventures Capital, Heights Capital Management, Octagon Capital, MSA Capital and South China Venture Capital. — Max Gelman