SBIR Reauthorization, a Top BIO Priority, Is Passed by Congress
Congress passed the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs on March 17, securing five more years of federal seed funding for biotech startups. The bipartisan House vote was 345‑41 after a unanimous Senate approval, ending a funding lapse that began in October. BIO will coordinate with agencies to help firms apply for the grants, which historically have funded over $77 billion to 33,000 companies and contributed to 12% of FDA‑approved drugs. Applications are expected to open soon on Grants.gov.
HDX-MS Plus Computational Methods Provide Novel Approach to Study of Protein-Protein Interactions
Regeneron scientists have integrated hydrogen‑deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX‑MS) with AI‑driven computational analysis to pinpoint binding sites, geometry, and stoichiometry in sandwich ELISA assays. The approach rapidly distinguishes protected versus exposed regions of antibodies, boosting assay specificity and sensitivity. By...
Electrorheoimaging Helps Manage Droplet Viscosity in Real-Time
Researchers at the University of Guelph introduced electrorheoimaging (ERI), a technique that merges electric‑field forcing, rheological measurement, and microscopic imaging to monitor droplet viscosity in real time. By adjusting the frequency of an applied electric field, they achieved instantaneous, reversible...
Benchtop Bioreactor Simplifies Macrophage Manufacturing
Scientists at Hannover Medical School have introduced a standardized protocol that generates macrophages from induced pluripotent stem cells using a 10‑50 mL benchtop bioreactor. The 24‑day workflow produces tens of millions of cells per harvest and allows multiple collections from a...
CAR T Production Bottlenecks Best Tackled with AI, Automation, and Skilled Staff
Patient‑specific CAR‑T therapies face a global production bottleneck due to centralized facilities, manual processes, and high variability in patient cell quality. Researchers highlight that decentralizing manufacturing, eliminating cryopreservation, and accelerating in‑process monitoring can cut vein‑to‑vein times. Automation and artificial intelligence...
STAT+: Clearing Tumors in Mice, Azalea Therapeutics Advances Dream of in Vivo CAR-T Therapy
Azalea Therapeutics, a spinout from Jennifer Doudna’s lab, reported in Nature that its in vivo CAR‑T approach can generate functional CAR‑T cells directly within mice and eradicate both solid and hematologic tumors. The technique uses infused gene‑editing particles that precisely...
Trillion Gene Atlas: Cool Concept, No Data Yet
Well, I love PacBio generally and the Trillion Gene Atlas sounds kind of cool. But as far as I can tell, none of this has been released publically and I cannot find a paper or preprint on the Trillion...
Protagonist’s First Approval Spells Trouble for Pharma’s Immunology Heavyweights
Protagonist Therapeutics received FDA approval for icotrokinra, marketed as Icotyde, becoming the first oral IL‑23 receptor blocker for plaque psoriasis. The clearance arrived ahead of schedule, unlocking a $50 million milestone from Johnson & Johnson and setting up royalty terms of 6‑10% on...
Valbenazine
Valbenazine (Ingrezza®), an oral selective VMAT2 inhibitor from Neurocrine Biosciences, received FDA approval for treating tardive dyskinesia and Huntington’s disease‑associated chorea. In the Phase 3 KINECT‑3 trial, a once‑daily 80 mg dose produced a statistically significant reduction in AIMS dyskinesia scores after...
STAT+: A Huntington’s Researcher on the UniQure-FDA Fray
UniQure’s experimental gene‑therapy for Huntington’s disease, which previously reported a 75% slowdown in disease progression, has received a third consecutive rejection from the FDA. The trial’s lead investigator, Ed Wild of University College London, praised the early data but warned...
AI Startup Basecamp Research Announces Trillion-Gene Project
Basecamp Research, an AI‑focused biotech startup backed by Microsoft and Nvidia, announced a trillion‑gene sequencing initiative. The company aims to collect genetic sequences for over a trillion proteins within the next two years. Leveraging high‑performance cloud computing and advanced generative‑AI...
Ionis Delays Prion Disease Readout; Arvinas' Parkinson's Biomarker Data
Ionis Therapeutics announced that the primary completion date for its Phase 1/2a prion disease trial has been pushed to February 2027, extending the study timeline by more than two years. In parallel, Arvinas reported new biomarker data from its Parkinson’s disease program,...
Kennedy’s Vaccine Agenda Stalled, Structure’s ‘Competitive’ Obesity Pill, Novo’s Warning Letter
Structure Therapeutics reported a 16.3% weight loss after 44 weeks in a Phase 2 trial of its oral GLP‑1 pill, positioning it as a competitive alternative to Eli Lilly’s and Novo Nordisk’s candidates. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals disclosed that its obesity drug Imcivree failed in...
Briggs Morrison's Crossbow Unveils $77M Series B for T Cell Engagers
Crossbow Therapeutics, founded by biotech veteran Briggs Morrison, announced a $77 million Series B round to accelerate its off‑the‑shelf T‑cell engager platform. The funding, led by a mix of venture capital and strategic investors, will support the advancement of three preclinical candidates...
Aspen's Personalized Parkinson's Therapy Shows Early Promise
Aspen Neuroscience reported encouraging early data from a small autologous cell therapy trial for Parkinson's disease. The treatment, derived from each patient's own skin cells and reprogrammed into dopaminergic neurons, was safely implanted in twelve participants, showing graft survival and...
First MHRA/NICE Aligned Guidance Due in June
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will begin delivering aligned guidance in June, enabling simultaneous licensing and reimbursement decisions for new medicines. Twenty‑seven companies have signed up...
As Chinese Biotechs Recognize Their Value, the Bargain Era May Be Over
Chinese biotech licensing activity surged in 2025, with 92 deals—a jump from 64 the prior year—and total deal value reaching a record $137.7 billion. The average upfront payment climbed from $102 million to $141 million, signaling that Chinese assets are no longer deep‑discount...
Lilly-Backed China Startup Debuts With $68.7M Seed to Advance Next-Gen T Cell Engagers
Excalipoint Therapeutics, a Shanghai‑based biotech, closed a $68.7 million seed round, including a $41 million founding raise and a $27.7 million extension led by MPCi, Centurium Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Eisai Innovation. The capital will fund six tri‑specific T‑cell engager candidates, notably...
FT‑Targeted Biotech Stocks Deliver Short‑Term Alpha
Good read on Biopharma M&A by RBC , little mention to Betaville, Bloomberg, FT , oand ofc the standout $RVMD Our biopharma team is out with an M&A discussion piece - given the importance of M&A to the sector, it is...
STAT+: J&J Wins Approval for First-of-Its-Kind Psoriasis Pill
Johnson & Johnson received FDA clearance for Icotyde, the first oral daily pill for moderate‑to‑severe plaque psoriasis. The drug, originally called icotrokinra, is approved for patients aged 12 and older and is designed to replicate the efficacy of injectable biologics...
Navigating the Valley of Death: A How-To From an Investor’s Perspective
Biotech startups face the notorious "valley of death" as they move from proof‑of‑concept to commercialization, but investors remain active, with a 70.9% jump in venture‑financing deal value between Q2 and Q3 2025. A GlobalData survey shows 39% of respondents are...
Hope Rises for Vaccine Against Hookworm Parasite
A phase 2 trial of the Na‑GST1/Al–CpG vaccine demonstrated near‑complete protection against hookworm infection in healthy adults, with vaccinated participants shedding a median of zero eggs per gram versus 67 in the placebo group. The study, conducted in Washington, DC,...
Mitochondria Packaged in Blood Cell Membranes Improve Disease Symptoms in Mice
Researchers have engineered microscopic capsules made from red blood cell membranes that encase single, healthy mitochondria and can be injected into animals. In mouse models of Parkinson‑like disease and Leigh syndrome, the capsules restored neuronal function, improved motor activity, and...
New Specifications for Submitting Nucleotide Sequence Data
The International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) has issued new minimal specifications to modernise how nucleotide sequence data and metadata are submitted and exchanged. The framework outlines supported data types, required metadata, linkage rules, and quality checks, creating a unified...
Xaira Unveils AI Model X-Cell for Predicting Virtual Cells
Xaira, the biotech AI startup with the deepest funding round, launched its first model, X‑Cell, on Tuesday. The platform uses deep learning to generate virtual cell representations from multi‑omics data, enabling researchers to simulate cellular responses without physical experiments. Early...
Protein Sequencing Advance Offers New Insights Into Life's Foundations
Stanford bioengineers have unveiled a "reverse translation" chemistry that tags amino acids with DNA barcodes, allowing existing high‑throughput DNA sequencers to read protein sequences. The method achieves single‑molecule sensitivity, potentially analyzing thousands of cells and detecting proteins a thousand times...
START and Trialing Collaborate on Oncology Clinical Trials
START Center for Cancer Research has partnered with Trialing to broaden access to early‑phase oncology clinical trials throughout Europe. The exclusive agreement lets START distribute curated trial information and real‑time enrollment updates via Trialing’s platform, directly notifying oncologists when slots...
Promising Biotechs in Maryland Right Now
Maryland’s life‑science cluster, home to over 2,700 institutions, is projected to generate a $16.7 billion R&D market by 2026. Six home‑grown biotech firms—SciNeuro, Gain Therapeutics, Theriva Biologics, Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Elixirgen Therapeutics and Altimmune—have secured sizable financing and strategic partnerships in the...
The Albumin-Globulin Ratio Mediates Progressive Motor Function Decline in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
A retrospective cohort of 201 Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and 202 matched controls revealed that a lower albumin‑globulin ratio (AGR) is strongly associated with poorer motor function and faster loss of ambulation. Logistic and Cox models showed lower AGR...
Co PSMA Prostate Imaging Data Presented at EAU Congress
Clarity Pharmaceuticals presented Phase II Co‑PSMA data at the EAU Congress, showing its 64Cu‑SAR‑bisPSMA PET tracer outperforms the standard 68Ga‑PSMA‑11 in detecting prostate cancer recurrence at low PSA levels. In 50 men post‑radical prostatectomy, 64Cu‑SAR‑bisPSMA identified 63 lesions versus 24...
Cogent Biosciences Reports US FDA’s NDA Acceptance of Bezuclastinib for NonAdvanced Systemic Mastocytosis (NonAdvSM)
Cogent Biosciences announced that the U.S. FDA has accepted its new‑drug application for bezuclastinib in non‑advanced systemic mastocytosis (NonAdvSM), with a PDUFA target date of December 30 2026 and no advisory committee required. The filing is supported by the SUMMIT trial, which...
Ascendis Pharma Reports Topline P-II (New InsiGHTS) Trial Data on TransCon hGH in Turner Syndrome
Ascendis Pharma released topline results from its Phase‑II New InsiGHTS trial evaluating TransCon hGH (lonapegsomatropin) administered once‑weekly versus daily somatropin in 49 prepubertal children with Turner syndrome. At week 52, the weekly formulation achieved an LS mean annualized height velocity...
CTMX Shows Higher ORR Than Temab‑A, Needs Validation
Late line CRC therapies in development following $CTMX's data this week (from Guggenheim). A lot is riding on $CTMX's 10 mg/kg cohort which had just 19 evaluable patients (3 patients were excluded so ITT response rate is lower) so this needs...
RBC Flags Revolution, Xenon, Arrowhead as Top Biotech Takeover Targets
RBC: Revolution, Xenon, Arrowhead among top #biotech takeover targets https://t.co/h1toH9szrU by @realJacobBell $ARWR $XENE $RVMD $DYNE
Outsmarting Resistance with Rhythm
In this episode, Immuneering CEO Ben Zeskin explains the company’s novel “deep cyclic inhibition” dosing strategy, which delivers intense, short‑duration MEK inhibition pulses instead of continuous suppression. By restoring the natural intermittent signaling rhythm in healthy cells while repeatedly ambushing...
5‑MeO‑DMT Shows Promise for Treatment‑Resistant Depression
Emerging evidence supports 5-MeO-DMT as a promising, ultra-short-acting psychedelic for treatment-resistant depression and other psychiatric conditions, warranting larger randomized controlled trials. https://t.co/6CcEOSat1F
Mitochondrial Transfer Shows Promise Against Parkinson’s in Animals
Potential of mitochondrial transfer to prevent or treat Parkinson' s disease, in mouse and monkey models @CellCellPress https://t.co/c0oqfagddX https://t.co/KyBc1zQttc
Salvia Pratensis Exhibits in Vitro Anti-Cancer Effects in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Through miR-34a-5p Signaling
Researchers evaluated leaf extracts from three Italian plants for activity against triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC). Salvia pratensis showed the strongest selective effect, cutting viability of MDA‑MB‑231 cells by roughly one‑third while sparing non‑cancerous MCF‑10A cells. The extract triggered mitochondrial reactive...
Comparing Psychedelic Trials to Antidepressants Skews Results
Does it stack the deck in favor of the standard antidepressants to pull data from placebo-controlled trials for one condition (the psychedelic) and compare it with single condition data for the standard antidepressants? Also...
Statistical Significance ≠ Biological Meaning in Bioinformatics
1/ Bioinformatics is NOT just statistics. The p-value is small, but is it biologically meaningful? Let’s talk. 🧵 https://t.co/gJ4s3Sjtr4
Rehmannia Glutinosa Polysaccharides: A Review on Structural Features, Pharmacological Potential, and Advanced Delivery Systems
The review highlights Rehmannia glutinosa polysaccharides (RGPs) as multifunctional heteropolysaccharides with immunomodulatory, anti‑inflammatory, antitumor, anti‑aging, and metabolic benefits. It details how structural attributes—molecular weight, monosaccharide composition, and glycosidic linkages—drive these activities and why poor oral bioavailability and batch variability impede...
Key Strategies for Building Biotech: Science, Tech, Finance
It was a fun privilege to share a few thoughts on building biotechs with Nature Biotechnology for their 30th Anniversary issue - covering a broad range of topics including translating science into medicines, technology cycles, and financing biotech companies... https://t.co/LbnWMSJI9f
Voro Therapeutics Collaborates with Daiichi Sankyo to Develop Tumor-Activated ADCs
Voro Therapeutics has signed a research collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo’s San Diego research institute to create tumor‑activated antibody‑drug conjugates (ADCs) using Voro’s PrimeBody platform. The partnership will focus on masked ADCs that employ proprietary masking domains and protease‑cleavable linkers to achieve...
Chinese Scientists Use E Coli to Fight Breast Tumours From Within in Mice Study
Chinese researchers at Shandong University have engineered the probiotic strain Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 to synthesize and deliver the anticancer drug Romidepsin directly within breast‑tumor tissue in mice. The bacteria colonized the tumors, releasing the drug locally and achieving tumor‑inhibiting...
Hookworm Vaccine Achieves Near‑100% Protection in Phase 2
Some exciting news tonight just published @TheLancetInfDis our @TexasChildrens @BCM_TropMed @GWSMHS hookworm anemia vaccine is showing high levels of protective immunity in human phase 2 clinical trials, nearly 100% reduction in hookworm, a project of decades https://t.co/C23cNdsa0p
Viva Biotech Teams with NVIDIA to Power AI‑Driven ‘Lab‑in‑the‑Loop’ Drug Discovery
On March 18, 2026, Viva Biotech announced a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to integrate high‑performance AI computing into its drug discovery workflow through a new ‘lab‑in‑the‑loop’ platform. The collaboration will combine Viva’s proprietary biological data sets with NVIDIA’s GPU‑accelerated AI...
FDA Rejects Aldeyra’s Dry‑Eye Drug for Third Time, Shares Plunge 70%
On March 17, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a complete response letter declining approval of Aldeyra Therapeutics’ dry‑eye disease candidate reproxalap. The decision, the third regulatory setback for the drug since 2023, sent Aldeyra’s shares tumbling more...
AlphaFold Adds Millions of Complexes, Illuminating Protein Interactions
Millions of protein complexes added to AlphaFold Database shed light on how proteins interact https://t.co/Kt9oFFkAf2 https://t.co/tEnlYOTCPl
Xoma Royalty Corp (XOMA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Zymeworks reported Q4 2025 revenue of $106 million, up from $76.3 million, while net loss narrowed to $81.1 million as operating expenses fell. The company highlighted Phase III zanidatumab data showing median PFS over one year and overall survival beyond two years in first‑line...
Zymeworks to Present Clinical and Preclinical Data on ADC Programs Including Novel RAS ADC Platform at AACR Annual Meeting
Zymeworks will present Phase 1 data on its folate‑receptor‑alpha ADC ZW191 and preclinical results for a novel pan‑RAS inhibitor ADC platform at the AACR Annual Meeting. The oral presentation will detail dose‑escalation safety and efficacy in advanced solid tumours, while...