A 32-Year Look at Biotech’s Capital Expansion
Over the past 32 years biotechs have amassed nearly $1.2 trillion in equity financing, according to BioCentury’s BCIQ database. Remarkably, half of that capital was raised in the eight‑year window from 2018 to 2025, underscoring an accelerating funding wave. The surge, amplified during the COVID era, reflects the rise of specialist investors who build and recycle capital back into the sector. This long‑term expansion signals a structural shift in how biotech companies access public and private markets.
Remembering Sofinnova’s Denis Lucquin, Father of French Biotech
Denis Lucquin, a founding partner of Sofinnova Partners and a pivotal architect of France’s biotech sector, died on April 3 at age 69 from pancreatic cancer. Over three decades he invested in 31 European biotech companies, including Ablynx, Nicox and Novexel, and...
Psoriasis Paves the Way for Next-Generation TYK2 Inhibitors in Autoimmunity
Takeda and Alumis reported Phase III data for their next‑generation TYK2 inhibitors, zasocitinib and envudeucitinib, showing more than half of patients achieve PASI 90 in plaque psoriasis. The results close the efficacy gap between oral agents and injectable biologics, surpassing the 28%...
RevMed’s Pancreatic Cancer Win Strengthens the Case for Targeting RAS(ON)
RevMed reported a positive Phase 2 trial of its RAS(ON) inhibitor in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, showing a 23% objective response rate and a median progression‑free survival of 5.8 months. The study enrolled 45 heavily pre‑treated patients and...
Biotech Executive, Combative Conservative Hemmati May Head CBER
The FDA is nearing a leadership transition at its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) as Vinay Prasad prepares to depart at month‑end. Houman David Hemmati, a biotech executive known for his combative conservative views, tops Commissioner Marty Makary’s shortlist. Several other candidates...
Fibrosis Company Avalyn Seeks NASDAQ Listing Amid Volatility: Finance Report
Avalyn Pharma, a Boston biotech focused on inhaled treatments for pulmonary fibrosis, filed a prospectus to list on NASDAQ despite ongoing market volatility. The company’s pipeline includes two Phase II programs: AP01, an inhaled pirfenidone in the Phase IIb MIST trial, and...
Blackstone’s Galakatos on Scaling Deals with $6.3B Fund: ‘Broader, Further’
Blackstone’s Galakatos team announced a new $6.3 billion private‑equity fund aimed at scaling the number and size of its transactions. The fund will pursue a broader geographic footprint and deeper sector coverage, focusing on later‑stage growth and buy‑and‑build opportunities. Galakatos plans...
Tackling Translation: The Parker Institute Model
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy marks its tenth anniversary by spotlighting a deliberate approach to translating scientific discoveries into medicines. Founder Karen Knudsen notes that while U.S. discovery remains strong, the nation struggles with moving breakthroughs through development pipelines....
2Q Markets Preview, Tariffs and Biotech Takeouts — a BioCentury Podcast
Biotech remains resilient as markets wobble, with M&A activity persisting. The BioCentury podcast highlighted two major pending deals: Eli Lilly’s $6.3 billion acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals and Biogen’s proposed $5.6 billion purchase of Apellis. Analysts also examined the lingering effects of Trump-era tariffs...
Alzheimer’s Company Korsana Heads to NASDAQ via Merger: Deals Report
Korsana Biosciences, a neuroscience startup backed by the Fairmount Funds‑backed Paragon incubator, announced a reverse‑merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics to go public on Nasdaq under the ticker KRSA. The all‑stock deal gives Korsana shareholders roughly 98.5% of the combined equity, leaving...
Liver Specialist Amit Singal Joining Curve Biosciences
Amit Singal, a leading hepatology expert, has joined Curve Biosciences as chief medical officer. Singal currently serves as chief of hepatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and authored the latest AASLD practice guidance on liver cirrhosis monitoring. Curve, based in San Mateo, leverages its...
Pharma Tariffs Pressuring Smaller Companies to Do MFN Deals
BioCentury’s website now outlines a comprehensive cookie framework that classifies cookies into five distinct groups: strictly necessary, functional, marketing, advertising, and analytics. Each category serves a specific purpose, from enabling authentication and core site functions to gathering anonymous usage metrics...
Resiliency in the Face of Volatility
Biotech markets are poised to sustain their outperformance as they navigate heightened geopolitical uncertainty. BioCentury’s Q2 2026 preview highlights strong follow‑on equity offerings and a robust M&A pipeline as primary catalysts. The sector’s resilience is underscored by more than $1 billion in...
Science Spotlight: Three Teams Converge on RNU2‑2 as Targetable for Neurodevelopmental Epilepsies
Three independent research teams reported in Nature Genetics that variants in the non‑coding RNA RNU2‑2 cause both a dominant neurodevelopmental epilepsy syndrome and a prevalent recessive childhood disorder with epilepsy. By analyzing overlapping international cohorts and shared genomic datasets, they...
Shreehas Tambe Becomes First CEO of Newly Combined Biocon
Shreehas Tambe has been appointed the first chief executive officer of the newly combined Biocon entity, formed after Biocon’s merger with contract‑research firm Syngene. The merged company is valued at roughly $5.5 billion and aims to become India’s largest biotech services...
