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 Celltrion and Rani Therapeutics have partnered to exclusively supply ustekinumab and adalimumab biosimilars for RaniPill products. //Read more

2️⃣ Astellas Pharma has acquired Iveric Bio, enhancing its ophthalmology capabilities through an established network of experts, a diverse commercial team, and existing relationships with medical institutions. //Read more

3️⃣ Raya Therapeutics and argenx have initiated an early-stage R&D collaboration to test combinations of Raya's targeted small molecules with a potentially complementary product from argenx. //Read more

4️⃣ NVIDIA has invested $50 million in Recursion to accelerate the development of Recursion's AI foundation models, aiming to expedite the creation of improved patient therapies in the biopharma industry. //Read more

5️⃣ Doer Biologics has out-licensed global rights for a candidate to BioNTech, which will now own the rights to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize the undisclosed target. //Read more

⏫ Pipeline and Approvals

1️⃣ Gynecology: The FDA has approved Laboratoire HRA Pharma's product, Opill, as the first nonprescription daily oral contraceptive in the U.S., aimed at increasing accessibility and reducing unintended pregnancies. //Explore further

2️⃣ Nephrology: Shanghai Fosun Pharma has reported that its New Drug Application (NDA) for tenapanor, a proposed treatment for lowering serum phosphorus in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis, has been accepted for review in China. The acceptance triggers a $2 million payment from Fosun to Ardelyx, the original rights holder of the drug. //Explore further

3️⃣ Addiction: Achieve Life Sciences has published results from its Phase 3 ORCA-2 trial in JAMA, revealing that cytisinicline, a smoking cessation treatment, demonstrated effective cessation rates and excellent tolerability. This potential breakthrough could make cytisinicline the first approved pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation in almost two decades. //Explore further

4️⃣ Nephrology: The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has provisionally approved Hansa Biopharma's Idefirix (imlifidase) for use as a desensitisation treatment for highly sensitised kidney transplant patients. This two-year provisional approval is based on Phase II studies' data and represents a significant innovation in kidney transplant care. //Explore further

5️⃣ Oncology: Innovent Biologics and IASO Biotherapies have received approval from China's National Medical Product Administration (NMPA) for their drug Fucaso (equecabtagene autoleucel). This treatment is intended for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have undergone three or more prior therapies. //Explore further

💰 Funding

1️⃣ EG 427 has raised a total of €18 million in its final Series A funding round to progress its pipeline, aiming to file an Investigational New Drug application for its lead product, EG110A, for neurogenic bladder overactivity by Q1 2024. //Learn more

2️⃣ Septerna has secured $150 million in Series B financing to advance its pipeline of novel GPCR-targeted medicines, with the proceeds to support the clinical proof-of-mechanism development of the lead PTH1R-targeting program. //Learn more

3️⃣ Arthrosi has secured $75 million in Series D financing to further develop AR882, a potent, next-gen URAT1 inhibitor, with the potential to transform gout treatment by addressing aspects like serum uric acid levels, flares, and tophi reduction. //Learn more

4️⃣ Crossbow Therapeutics has launched with $80 million in Series A funding to develop novel therapies that target peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complexes (pMHCs) on cancer cells, using T-cell receptor-mimicking antibodies. //Learn more

5️⃣ Sinotau Pharma has raised $152 million in Series E funding to support its portfolio of novel diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for cardiovascular, neurodegenerative disease, and cancer indications. //Learn more

📰 Interesting News

1️⃣ The launch of Threads provides a new platform for medical marketing. While advertising is currently restricted, potential changes may soon allow marketers to leverage this platform. With notable pharmaceutical and biotech companies like Boehringer Ingelheim, Moderna, Bayer, and Amgen already active on the app, it presents a new opportunity for engagement and promotion in the healthcare sector. //Find out more

2️⃣ Researchers have developed a biodegradable brain implant that delivers cancer-treating drugs by generating ultrasound waves to penetrate the barrier, allowing the drugs to reach the tumor. This technique was demonstrated in mice, with the implants positioned directly behind the tumor site. //Find out more //Find out more

3️⃣ Exposure to racism in children can increase the risk of obesity, as the resulting psychological stress from taunting and harassment can trigger negative emotional reactions and biological responses that elevate disease risk. //Find out more

4️⃣ In 2023, despite economic challenges, at least seven life science companies have launched substantial IPOs. This follows a decrease in activity from 2021, which saw 152 IPOs raising more than $25 billion, to 2022, with 47 IPOs generating about $4 billion. //Find out more

5️⃣ Seven companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Organon and Samsung Bioepis, Sandoz, Fresenius Kabi, Celltrion USA, Coherus, and Biocon Biologics, have launched biosimilars of AbbVie's Humira. //Find out more