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 CRO Inotiv continues M&A strategy with $11mn Protypia buy. Buying Protypia will help cater to the growing demand for bioanalytical services in the discovery lab.

2️⃣ Akanda to supply Tetra Bio-Pharma with pharmaceutical-grade cannabis for FDA trials of Qixleef, a potential multimillion-dollar prescription drug. Akanda will supply Tetra with pharmaceutical-grade cannabis flower in a microdose cap form for use in a Storz & Bickel Mighty Medic Vaporizer for the global commercialization of Tetra's Qixleef.

3️⃣ Pharmaniaga teams up with China-based Suzhou Ronnsi Pharma to commercialize halal anti-coagulant. Pharmaniaga to collaborate with China-based Suzhou Ronnsi Pharma to commercialize a halal ovine-based (sheep and goat) anti-coagulant blood clot thinner.

4️⃣ Endo enters commercialization & supply agreement with Quoin Pharmaceuticals. The agreement with Quoin is for the development, registration, supply, commercialization and distribution of QRX003 exclusively in Canada.

5️⃣ Novartis turns to algorithms developer Anumana to apply AI to cardio conditions. Novartis is partnering with algorithms startup Anumana to develop a new artificial intelligence-based solution for cardiovascular diseases. The goal is to find ways to detect heart conditions years before symptoms develop to enable earlier intervention.

⏫ Pipeline and Approvals

1️⃣ Ophthalmology: Novaliq's new drug application for the treatment of dry eyes disease was submitted to the FDA

2️⃣ Oncology: FDA accepts BLA for Byondis Biologics' HER2-positive breast cancer treatment

3️⃣ Neurology: Polpharma Biologics announces EMA acceptance for the proposed biosimilar Natalizumab (Tysabri)

4️⃣ Oncology: Pioneer ALK blocker breaks new ground with rare cancer nod

5️⃣ Oncology: CStone approved to launch RET Inhibitor in Hong Kong for NSCLC

💰 Funding

1️⃣ TrueBinding raises $100mn For Alzheimer’s treatment as the sector grows. Funds will be used to further ongoing clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease.

2️⃣ Knopp, VCs launch Areteia with $350mn series A to advance asthma candidate. Funding will be used to advance a repurposed candidate through Phase III testing for eosinophilic asthma.

3️⃣ Provention snags $60mn in a private placement as the future of diabetes therapy hangs in the balance. The money will be used to prepare for the potential launch of teplizumab, though the drug’s future remains in the FDA’s hands.

4️⃣ Different ways to go after KRAS mutant tumors? Novo-backed biotech nabs $50mn to wrap early studies. This infusion of cash will generate additional efficacy and safety data for Inspirna’s RGX-202 program in advanced RAS mutant colorectal cancer patients, enabling dose optimization for a subsequent randomized controlled trial in the same population.

5️⃣ An Epic in miniature: CRISPR pioneer's startup reels in $55mn to use tiny Cas for epigenetic engineering. Funding will help Epic Bio explore the therapeutic potential of the protein, dubbed CasMINI.

📰 Interesting News

1️⃣ Two-thirds of 2021 FDA-approved drugs are supported with genetic data. Around 33 (66%) of 50 drugs approved last year were supported by genomic data.

2️⃣ Pharma industry reports 61 deals worth $6.4bn in June 2022, says GlobalData. The pharma industry reported 61 deals worth $6.4 billion as compared to the last 12-month average (June 2021 to May 2022) of 81 deals worth $14.8 billion.

3️⃣ The biggest European biotech investments in June 2022. Oncology and AI-guided drug discovery firms roped in the biggest biotech investments in Europe in June 2022. The leading private rounds went to companies including ImCheck Therapeutics, MiroBio, and Charm Therapeutics.

4️⃣ Novel peptide could create a pathway against insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes. A multinational research collaboration has developed a new peptide dubbed “PATAS”, which appears to fix the metabolic abnormalities leading to type 2 diabetes (T2D).

5️⃣ UK lags EU in authorizing new medicines after Brexit. The UK fell behind the EU in the race to attract innovative medicines for use in the country in the first year after Brexit, researchers have found.