Plus, news about AbbVie, Novartis, Analytical Biosciences, ENA Respiratory, VitriVax, Galera and Gilead:
👁️ Viridian Therapeutics launches $251M offering:
The biotech
is selling
11.4 million shares at $22.00 apiece. It plans to use the proceeds to support the launch of veligrotug, which is in pivotal trials for thyroid eye disease, and VRDN-003, which is the same drug but in subcutaneous form.
— Jaimy Lee
💰 RAPT Therapeutics’s $250M stock sale:
Earlier this week, the company
said
its partner Shanghai Jeyou Pharmaceutical plans to advance its anti-IgE antibody into Phase 3 trials in chronic spontaneous urticaria. It’s
now selling
about 8.3 million shares for $30.00 apiece.
— Jaimy Lee
💵 Nurix Therapeutics also targets $250M offering:
The company
is selling
24.5 million shares for $10.21 per share as it advances bexobrutideg, its experimental treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia that just moved into pivotal trials.
— Jaimy Lee
🧬 Regeneron ends study of cell therapy from 2seventy bio:
The drugmaker pulled the plug on a Phase 1/2 trial of bbT369 in patients with certain forms of B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to the federal clinical trials
database
. The asset came from Regeneron’s
purchase of 2seventy’s R&D infrastructure
for $5 million upfront in 2024. The experimental autologous cell therapy targeted CD79a and CD20.
— Kyle LaHucik
🧠 AbbVie pushes back Phase 2 trial for bipolar drug:
The drug giant now
expects
a Phase 2 study for icalcaprant to wrap up in November 2027 versus prior
guidance
of October 2026, according to the federal clinical trials database. The study was slated to start in May but is now scheduled to start in February. The experimental medicine is a KOR antagonist that’s being tested as a treatment for bipolar disorder. Johnson & Johnson in March
ended work
on its Phase 3 drug in this class, while Neumora said in January that its KOR antagonist failed the first of three Phase 3 studies.
— Kyle LaHucik
🧪 Novartis’ Cosentyx hits all Phase 3 targets in polymyalgia rheumatica:
The Swiss drugmaker
said
the drug produced a “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” remission in patients with the inflammatory condition after one year. REPLENISH trial participants are either given two doses of Cosentyx or placebo, in combination with a steroid taper regimen over 24 weeks. Novartis now plans to submit the data to regulators in the first half of next year.
— Jaimy Lee
💸 Analytical Biosciences’ $30M Series A:
The Shanghai biotech, which
disclosed
the round on LinkedIn, plans to use the money to establish a newco and keep working on its biologics for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
— Jaimy Lee
👃 ENA Respiratory raised $22.4M for viral defense spray
: The biotech’s Series B round will fund a Phase 2 trial of a nasal spray designed to help the body fight viruses. Named INNA-051, the product is a TLR2/6 agonist that primes antiviral defenses in the nose, allowing the user to respond more quickly to viruses like colds, flu, RSV and coronaviruses, ENA
said
. Patients in the trial will take the drug once a week for up to three months, with ENA betting the spray will cut the number of cases, duration and severity of infections. New investors include the Gates Foundation and Flu Lab. Existing investors like Brandon Capital Partners, Uniseed and Stoic Venture Capital also participated. —
Elizabeth Cairns
💉 VitriVax raises $17.25M in Series B:
The company
is developing
a single-shot vaccine platform that won’t rely on a cold chain. The round was co-led by Adjuvant Capital and RA Capital.
— Jaimy Lee
🧾 Galera sells certain cancer drugs for up to $105M:
Biossil is
spending
$3.5 million upfront to buy Galera’s portfolio of dismutase mimetics, including avasopasem and rucosopasem. Galera could also get up to $105 million in milestones and contingent value rights. The biotech will focus on advancing its lead candidate, which is in Phase 2 development for metaplastic breast cancer.
— Ayisha Sharma
📋 Gilead terminates Phase 1 of HIV drug:
The company ended an early-stage
trial
of a long-acting injectable for people with HIV-1, according to the federal clinical trials database. The experimental medicine, known as GS-1219, was expected to be a twice-yearly candidate. HIV remains a core part of Gilead’s R&D and revenue.
— Kyle LaHucik
