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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

Roivant ditches plan to reacquire Immunovant, putting up $200M investment instead

Roivant Sciences was ready to go all-in on bringing former subsidiary Immunovant back under its wing, but now, the parent-to-be is taking a step back and offering up a $200 million strategic investment instead. The complex deal came to light back in May, when Roivant said it planned to reacquire Immunovant, which left the nest and went public via a $100 million special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, deal in 2019.

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Top Stories

AbbVie plans to move next-gen Aduhelm hopeful for Alzheimer's into the clinic

The accelerated approval of Biogen’s Aduhelm has caught the eye of AbbVie, which plans to push an Alzheimer’s disease candidate that potentially has a better safety profile into the clinic by year’s end. While reporting second quarter earnings, AbbVie’s R&D chief Mike Severino revealed that AbbVie has identified a beta amyloid candidate that could work faster with reduced risk.

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CymaBay secures $100M to bankroll phase 3 development of resurrected liver drug

A little over a year after resurrecting the liver disease drug seladelpar, CymaBay Therapeutics now has $100 million to bankroll a phase 3 study of the drug. The biopharmaceutical company picked up the non-dilutive financing from Abingworth on Monday to fund trials for seladelpar, including a phase 3 trial and an open-label extension trial. 

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Ipsen puts down $20M in $1B deal with Exicure for rare neuro disorders

Ipsen is digging deeper into neuroscience, with a $20 million upfront payment to Exicure in a discovery deal for up to two preclinical assets in Huntington's disease and Angelman syndrome. The agreement is back loaded with up to $1 billion in fees and focuses on two rare genetic disorders.

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Moderna looks to Autolus to further fuel its mRNA oncology plans

Autolus is among the sea of biotechs seeking to improve on first-generation T-cell therapies but hit bumps in the road, leading it to cut 20% of its staff and seek a partner for one of its candidates earlier this year. But now, it has the validation of a deal with a high-profile partner. Moderna has signed on to leverage Autolus' technology in its mRNA therapies against four immuno-oncology targets. 

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T-knife Therapeutics bags $110M to sharpen solid tumor cell therapy push into the clinic

Investors have flocked to T-knife Therapeutics, which has been taking aim at solid tumors, an area where cell therapies have struggled to perform as well as they have in some blood cancers. Just last year, the biotech raised €66 million ($78 million) and now has reeled in a further $110 million to support a multifront push into clinical trials.

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Zentera Therapeutics eyes 2022 Hong Kong listing, but first, a $75M series B to support oncology assets

Zentera Therapeutics, a joint venture created by Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, raised $75 million in series B funds Monday to advance three assets and add to its oncology-focused pipeline ahead of a likely 2022 public offering in Hong Kong.

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With expanded FDA nod, Regeneron's COVID-19 antibody drug can help the immunocompromised

The FDA has expanded its EUA for Regeneron's COVID-19 drug as a preventative therapy for those who have been exposed to the disease and who are at high risk to progress to a severe case.

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MindMics finds in-ear monitor surpasses ECG in assessing cardiac arrhythmia

They say the surest path to a person’s heart is through their stomach, but according to MindMics, it might actually be through the ears. The startup’s in-ear monitors pick up heartbeats and other measures of cardiac blood flow.

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Pfizer court fight could legalize Medicare copays and unleash 'gold rush' in sales

A Pfizer win could cost taxpayers billions of dollars and erase an important control on pharma marketing after decades of regulatory erosion and soaring drug prices, say health policy analysts.

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Unleashing immunotherapy against 'cold' prostate tumors with a new protein target

University of Michigan researchers found that inhibiting a protein kinase called PIKfyve slowed the growth of prostate tumors in cell lines and mice. It worked even better when they combined it with an immune checkpoint blocker. Now, they're moving an investigational PIKfyve inhibitor that's already been shown to be safe in people into phase 2 trials.

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eBrief: Drug Product Process Development: Ensuring a Consistent, High-quality Biologic

Learn about drug product process development challenges and risks, the difference between innovator and biosimilar drug product process development, and more during the drug product process development phase.

Whitepaper: Achieving a Successful Drug Product Technology Transfer

Get insights on key considerations for a successful tech transfer process for manufacturing a biologic drug product, including a case study on overcoming challenges in a process transfer for a sterile diluent.

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