GeneOnline’s Weekly News Highlights: June 19-23

GeneOnline’s editorial team has compiled a digest of top international biotechnology and healthcare news of the week to help readers keep abreast of global biomedical industry updates.

Could Bacteria Be Causing Endometriosis?

Endometriosis affects 10% of women in their reproductive age and manifests as severe pain, bleeding and increased difficulty to get pregnant. The underlying mechanism of this condition remains largely unknown, posing challenges in diagnosis and treatment. However, a study conducted by researchers at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine shed light on a potential contributor to endometriosis, namely a bacterium. Discovering the cause of the condition could be the key to developing a treatment. 

Coherus Acquiring Surface Oncology in $65M Stock Deal

Surface Oncology, a Massachusetts-based clinical-stage provider of immuno-oncology (I-O) treatments that target the tumor microenvironment, is set to be acquired by Coherus BioSciences through a stock-for-stock transaction valued at up to $65 million. This transformative move will position Coherus as an I-O company, equipped with numerous next-generation immunotherapies undergoing clinical development and supported by increasing revenues. 

Clinical Hold Announced for Arcellx’s IMMagine-1 Phase 2 Clinical Program

On June 19, Arcellx issued a press release stating that a clinical hold had been placed on iMMagine-1, a drug for the treatment of refractory myeloma (rrMM). The FDA’s notification was received on June 16 in the wake of a patient’s death. Despite this, they have been provided with clearance to continue the dosing of patients who have undergone lymphodepletion. Arcellx believes a contributing factor to the event is the limitations of bridging therapy, the treatment between the collection of T cells and lymphodepletion.

Vaxxas: A Needleless Way to Administer Vaccines With HD-MAP Technology 

Vaxxas represents the next generation of vaccines, utilizing an innovative technology called HD-MAP. This technology has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of existing vaccines. By employing microprojections that penetrate the skin and reach the immune cells directly underneath, the vaccine components are able to quickly travel to the lymph nodes. The introduction of this new vaccination technique offers three key advantages: firstly, it eliminates the requirement for refrigeration, secondly, it is highly efficient in terms of dosage, and thirdly, it has the potential for self-administration.

Cimeio Therapeutics and Prime Medicine Announce a Research Collaboration to Combat Life Threatening Diseases 

On June 22, the biotechnology companies Prime Medicine and Cimeio Therapeutics announced a research collaboration with the goal of improving the effectiveness and safety of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants and in vivo genetic therapies. HSC transplants are used to treat cancers like acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and genetic diseases. They intend to achieve this by combining their technologies that include Cimeio’s Shielded Cell and Immunotherapy Pairs (SCIP) platform and Prime Medicine’s Prime Editing platform. 

Funding Boost for Calidi Biotherapeutics’ Innovative Cancer Therapies

On June 23, San Diego-based biotech company Calidi Biotherapeutics announced that the company has secured $25 million in Series B funding, led by Jackson Investment Group (JIG) with an initial investment of $5 million. The funding will support the development of Calidi’s pipeline of stem cell and oncolytic virus therapies for cancer treatment. This includes: CLD-101, CLD-201, and CLD-202, which combine allogeneic stem cells and oncolytic viruses to treat various oncology indications. 

Eli Lilly’s $2.4B Acquisition of DICE Therapeutics 

On June 23, Eli Lilly announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire DICE Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company with a proprietary DELSCAPE technology platform that enables the development of novel oral therapeutic candidates, including oral IL-17 inhibitors currently in clinical development, for chronic immunologic diseases. This transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023, and Eli Lilly plans to purchase DICE for up to $2.4 billion ($48 per share) in order to expand its autoimmune disease pipeline.

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GeneOnline Team