After its momentum-building end-of-phase II meeting with the FDA, Contrafect Corp. will start a single phase III trial of exebacase to treat Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia before year-end.
Newlink Genetics Corp. and Lumos Pharma Inc. have agreed to merge, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. Lumos will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Newlink, which will be renamed Lumos Pharma Inc.
The diversification at Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) continued Monday with its acquisition of Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a deal worth about $915 million.
Pfizer Inc. edged closer to Dermira Inc. in the rush for an approved treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), a field dominated by Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc.'s FDA-approved blockbuster, Dupixent (dupilumab), as Pfizer reported positive top-line results from a phase III trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of its oral JAK1 inhibitor, abrocitinib.
Zielbio Inc., of Charlottesville, Va., closed on a $25.1 million series A financing to further its lead candidate, ZB-131, a humanized monoclonal antibody against cell surface plectin, which is expressed on the plasma membrane of ovarian, pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancer cells.
The business Martin Moore started years ago in college to make ends meet was dubbed Orion. Many years later, his new business, Meissa Vaccines Inc., was named for a star in Orion's constellation and could more than help him make ends meet.
Amphivena Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, closed on a $62 million series C that will allow the company to continue its study of selective myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) removal in hematologic and solid cancers and to advance its lead candidate, AMV-564, a bivalent, bispecific T-cell engager in a phase I trial for treating patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
Looking closely at the logo for newly launched Omega Therapeutics Inc., there's a definitely an "O" for omega. But there's more. Lurking right there alongside the "O" is also an "A," indicating quite a wide range and vision.
Gaba Therapeutics Inc., of Newport Beach, Calif., closed on a series A of up to $15.5 million to create a new compound for treating mood disorders, particularly anxiety and depression.
As is often the case, it was a personal and devastating encounter with disease that brought Paul Mischel, a founder of newly launched Boundless Bio Inc., to the life sciences. When he lost his father to cancer, he dedicated his career to finding a cure.
