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 Tandem closes insulin patch deal. AMF Medical is developing the Sigi Patch Pump, a rechargeable device that reduces the burden of managing diabetes through its use of pre-filled insulin cartridges.

2️⃣ Takeda to acquire exclusive worldwide license of Hutchmed’s fruquintinib, a highly selective, oral VEGFR1/2/3 tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Licensing deal is for the further development and commercialization of fruquintinib outside of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

3️⃣ CytoReason to license its IBD disease model to Sanofi in an expanded multiyear, multimillion dollar deal. Collaboration will support Sanofi’s use of CytoReason’s computational disease models to develop new targets for inflammatory bowel disease.

4️⃣ SN BioScience and Boryung announce the licensing agreement on generic version of abraxane. Through this contract, Boryung will have exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights in Korea for SNA-001 - albumin nanoparticle anti-cancer drug.

5️⃣ Nogra Pharma announces out-licensing agreement with Torii Pharmaceutical for Japan. Under the agreement, Torii Pharmaceuticals will gain exclusive development and commercialization rights for NAC-GED-0507 in Japan. NAC-GED-0507 is a Phase III-ready New Chemical Entity (NCE), potential first-in-class treatment, selective PPARγ modulator for topical treatment of acne.

⏫ Pipeline and Approvals

1️⃣ Diabetes: TheracosBio announces U.S. FDA approval of Brenzavvy (bexagliflozin) for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.

2️⃣ Oncology: PharmaMar’s Zepzelca gains full approval in Mexico.

3️⃣ Oncology: Akeso approved to Market PD-1 in China as first-line NSCLC therapy.

4️⃣ Oncology: U.S. FDA Approves Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib), the first and only non-covalent (reversible) BTK inhibitor, for adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy, including a BTK inhibitor.

5️⃣ Oncology: U.S. FDA approves Elacestrant for ER+/HER2–, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

💰 Funding

1️⃣ With new $35mn funding, Atomic AI envisions RNA as the next frontier in drug discovery. Atomic AI aims to do for RNA what AlphaFold did for proteins, and find entirely new treatments in the process.

2️⃣ UBC biotech spin-off raises $75mn to bring cancer treatments to patients. Alpha-9’s radiopharmaceuticals are designed to treat a range of solid and hematologic cancers such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, leukemia and lymphoma. Funding will enable the company to bring its first five treatments into clinical trials with patients over the next two years.

3️⃣ Durham pharma firm Eppin pharma lands funding in search for male contraceptive pill. Funding will help to establish a proof of concept for the safety and feasibility of Eppin’s short-term, reversible, non-hormonal oral male contraceptive.

4️⃣ Grey Wolf Therapeutics closes an oversubscribed $49mn series B financing to advance first-of-its-kind Neoantigen creation approaches. Proceeds to support advancement of lead candidate, ERAP1 Inhibitor GRWD5769, into the clinic in 1H 2023; continued R&D for follow-on ERAP inhibition strategies.

5️⃣ Metabolon, leader in providing metabolomics solutions, secures $25mn of funding to accelerate growth. The proceeds will help Metabolon further accelerate commercialization activities and continue advancing its well-defined R&D roadmap.

📰 Interesting News

1️⃣ The psychedelic ibogaine can treat addiction. The race is on to cash in. Consumed in small doses, iboga root bark acts as a stimulant, often brewed into palm wine or chewed to curb hunger and fatigue.

2️⃣ A soybean protein blocks LDL cholesterol production, reducing risks of metabolic diseases. Consuming soy flour rich in protein B-conglycinin has the potential to reduce LDL cholesterol levels and lower the risk of metabolic diseases such as atherosclerosis and fatty liver disease.

3️⃣ Seven technologies to watch in 2023. From protein sequencing to electron microscopy, and from archaeology to astronomy, seven technologies are likely to shake up science in the year ahead.

4️⃣ Wearable sensor uses ultrasound to provide cardiac imaging on the go. Engineers and physicians have developed a wearable ultrasound device that can assess the structure and function of the human heart. The portable device, roughly the size of a postage stamp, can be worn for up to 24 hours and works even during strenuous exercise.

5️⃣ The drugs to watch in 2023. The annual Drugs to Watch report from Clarivate spotlights late-stage pre-launch drugs and biologics set to become blockbusters within five years of market authorization and/or transform treatment paradigms.