The Weekly Roundup newsletter curates the top five - deals, pipeline, funding, and news from the past week.

The complete list is available here: Industry Updates

🤝Deals and Collaborations

1️⃣ Janssen Biotech has signed a $245 million deal to license two clinical-stage CD20-targeting CAR-T candidates from China-based biotech for global rights, in its second CAR-T deal with a Chinese company. //Read more

2️⃣ Magenta Therapeutics and Dianthus Therapeutics have announced a merger agreement to create a Nasdaq-listed, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on advancing Dianthus' portfolio of next-generation antibody complement therapeutics. //Read more

3️⃣BioCentriq and panCELLa have executed a research agreement to evaluate the ability of panCELLa's genetically-engineered, induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)-derived, feeder cells to activate and positively impact the expansion rate, total yield, and potency of manufactured NK cells. //Read more

4️⃣Lupin has announced plans to acquire Medisol, a French firm specializing in generic injectable products. Medisol is engaged in developing and commercializing its products in France, in pharmacies, and in hospitals. //Read more

5️⃣Plus Therapeutics and Piramal Pharma Solutions have expanded their partnership to meet the rising demand for Plus Therapeutics' lead investigational targeted radiotherapeutic, rhenium (186Re) obisbemeda, for clinical trials that are underway and planned. The alliance aims to enhance cGMP drug production. //Read more

⏫ Pipeline and Approvals

1️⃣ MedinCell of France has won its first FDA approval for Uzedy, an extended-release injectable suspension treatment for adults with schizophrenia, in combination with Teva. The drug will be available in the US in the coming weeks at a wholesale cost of $1,232 to $3,080 per month. //Explore further

2️⃣ The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended Roche's Columvi, or glofitamab, for approval as a fixed-duration treatment for adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy. //Explore further

3️⃣ Takeda Pharmaceutical has filed a new drug application in Japan for TAK-662, a lyophilized sterile concentrate of human protein C, for the treatment of congenital protein C deficiency. //Explore further

4️⃣ Avadel Pharmaceuticals has received final FDA approval for LUMRYZ, an extended-release formulation of sodium oxybate for the treatment of cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness in adults with narcolepsy. The once-at-bedtime oxybate will be the first and only FDA-approved oxybate for people with narcolepsy. //Explore further

5️⃣ Gilead Sciences' Hepcludex has received a positive opinion for full marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use to treat chronic hepatitis delta virus and compensated liver disease in adults. //Explore further

💰 Funding

1️⃣ Odaia has raised $25 million in Series B funding to advance its AI-driven commercial insights software for pharma. The funding will support the rapid growth of its AI-powered solutions that help pharma companies put life-changing therapies in the hands of patients faster. //Learn more

2️⃣ Initial Therapeutics has launched with $75 million in funding from Apple Tree Partners to create a new kind of drug designed to stop the formation of difficult-to-drug protein targets. The company aims to intercept the translation of disease-causing proteins in the exit tunnel of the ribosome. //Learn more

3️⃣ ARTHEx Biotech has announced the closing of a €42M Series B financing to advance ATX-01, its novel treatment for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1). The funding will be used to advance its lead compound, ATX-01, to a Phase I/IIa clinical trial for the treatment of DM1. ATX-01 is an antimiR designed to target microRNA 23b (miR-23b). //Learn more

4️⃣ A biotech company has announced $90 million in funding to develop next-gen radioactive drugs to treat prostate cancer. The funds will be used to develop a pipeline of novel radioantibodies, including CONV01-α, the company's lead program for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. //Learn more

5️⃣ Healthy.io has secured $50 million in a Series D funding round to expand its smartphone kidney test, Minuteful Kidney™, across the U.S. market. The clinical-grade kidney test and patient engagement service aims to improve access to testing and monitoring for kidney disease. //Learn more

📰 Interesting News

1️⃣ Biotech firm Blackrock Neurotech has implanted brain chips in 50 people to treat ailments, beating Elon Musk's Neuralink. The implanted microchip with 96 arrays, each consisting of needle-shaped brain chips, is capable of reading and stimulating electrical impulses. //Find out more

2️⃣ The US Surgeon General warns that loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking, revealing that it increases the risk of premature death by nearly 30%. The report highlights that those with poor social relationships also have a greater risk of stroke and heart disease. //Find out more

3️⃣ Scientists have developed a 'wonder capsule' for insulin delivery, which packages insulin in a fatty nanomaterial within the capsule. This helps to camouflage insulin, allowing it to cross the intestinal walls in a similar fashion to mRNA vaccines. //Find out more

4️⃣ Researchers have used a skull-implantable ultrasound device to help deliver chemotherapy to the brain. The device opened the blood-brain barrier to repeatedly permeate large, critical regions of the human brain, enabling the delivery of chemotherapy injected intravenously. //Find out more

5️⃣ A new study offers clues to the rare heart condition among young men after COVID vaccines. The study found that people who received mRNA COVID vaccines had inflammation-induced myocarditis. Waiting more time between doses to help the immune system and inflammation calm down could help cut the risk of myocarditis. //Find out more