STAT+: Biotech Startup Raises $175 Million to Advance Alzheimer’s Antibody Therapy
Korsana Biosciences announced a $175 million financing round led by Fairmount, Venrock, Wellington Management and TCGX to develop its Alzheimer’s antibody candidate KRSA‑028. The startup positions KRSA‑028 as a next‑generation “brain shuttle” designed to clear amyloid plaques more efficiently than existing therapies. Two antibody drugs are already approved, but Korsana argues its platform could improve delivery and efficacy. The capital will fund pre‑clinical work and launch early‑stage clinical trials later this year.
STAT+: Ocular’s Experimental Eye Drug Beats Low Dose of Regeneron’s Eylea in Late-Stage Trial
Ocular Therapeutix announced that its experimental drug Axpaxli met the primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial for wet age‑related macular degeneration, maintaining vision in 74% of patients at nine months and 66% at one year after a single injection....
STAT+: Compass Says Its Psilocybin Drug Helped Patients with Severe Depression in Two Trials
Compass Pathways announced that its synthetic psilocybin therapy, COMP360, achieved statistically significant improvements in two identical Phase 3 trials for severe major depressive disorder. Both studies met primary endpoints, showing greater reduction in depression scores than placebo‑controlled psychotherapy. The data suggest...
STAT+: As China’s Drug Industry Races Ahead, Its GLP-1 Race Is Accelerating Too
China’s pharmaceutical sector is rapidly expanding, now generating its own GLP‑1 drugs alongside imported treatments. Novo Nordisk reported a 5% decline in Ozempic sales in China last year, the first dip since its 2021 launch, while sales grew elsewhere. The...
STAT+: FDA Rejects Rare Disease Therapy From Disc Medicine, Early Recipient of Commissioner’s Voucher
The FDA rejected bitopertin, Disc Medicine’s experimental therapy for acute hepatic porphyria, marking the first drug reviewed under Commissioner Marty Makary’s fast‑track voucher program. The agency cited uncertainties about the link between the trial’s blood‑based biomarker and actual clinical benefit....
STAT+: Pediatricians Confront HHS in Vaccine Showdown
The FDA unexpectedly refused to review Moderna’s mRNA‑based flu vaccine, sparking alarm across biotech firms. Pediatricians are confronting the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), demanding transparent guidance on pediatric flu immunization. The decision highlights perceived regulatory volatility under...
STAT+: BridgeBio Drug for Genetic Cause of Dwarfism Succeeds in Key Study
BridgeBio Pharma's oral drug infigratinib met its primary endpoint in a pivotal trial of more than 100 children with achondroplasia, delivering an average growth increase of 2.1 cm per year versus placebo. Adjusted analysis showed a 1.74 cm per year advantage, both...
STAT+: European VCs Band Together to Improve the Landscape for Biotech Startups
European venture capital firms have launched the European Life Sciences Coalition, a new alliance aimed at strengthening funding pipelines for biotech startups across the continent. The coalition highlights a stark financing gap: of the 67 EU‑based biotech firms that went...
STAT+: The Unusual Prasad Missive in the FDA’s Rejection of the Moderna Flu Shot Application
Moderna announced that the FDA rejected its mRNA‑based flu vaccine, a move that caught the company off guard. The decision sparked a public critique from oncologist Vinay Prasad, who questioned the agency’s evaluation process. At the same time, regulators are...
STAT+: Eczema Drug From Nektar Therapeutics Maintains Skin Responses in One-Year Study
Nektar Therapeutics reported that its experimental eczema biologic rezpeg sustained stringent skin‑lesion improvements in a year‑long maintenance study. Patients receiving monthly injections maintained responses in 71% of cases, while quarterly dosing achieved an 83% maintenance rate. The data met or...
STAT+: Biotech Doubles Financing in Quest to Silence Genes Behind Neurological Diseases
Aerska, a Dublin‑London biotech, announced a $39 million financing round, just four months after its initial seed raise. The company’s platform uses iron‑mimicking antibodies to ferry siRNA molecules across the blood‑brain barrier, a technique it calls a “brain shuttle.” By silencing...
STAT+: Eli Lilly to Buy Orna Therapeutics for $2.4 Billion
Eli Lilly announced a $2.4 billion acquisition of Orna Therapeutics, a biotech developing in‑vivo CAR‑T cell therapies. Orna’s platform leverages circular RNA to edit patient cells directly inside the body, improving stability and delivery. Its lead candidate, ORN‑252, is a CD19‑directed...
STAT+: A Sign Biotech Is Back? Four Drugmakers Go Public, Raising Nearly $1 Billion in All
Four biotech firms—Agomab Therapeutics, Eikon Therapeutics, Spyglass Pharma, and Veradermics—went public this week, collectively raising close to $1 billion. A fifth company, Generate Biomedicines, filed IPO paperwork, signaling renewed confidence in public markets. The wave follows a prolonged downturn where only...
STAT+: Roivant Immune Drug Significantly Outperformed Placebo in Treating Rare Skin Disease
Roivant and its spin‑out Priovant reported that brepocitinib dramatically outperformed placebo in a 31‑patient trial for cutaneous sarcoidosis. Patients receiving the high‑dose regimen improved by an average of 22.3 points on a 165‑point disease activity scale, versus just 0.7 points...
STAT+: A Rival Goes After Ocular Therapeutix on Eve of Pivotal Readout on Eye Treatment
Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals' CEO Jay Duker publicly questioned Ocular Therapeutix's wet AMD drug Axpaxli during a Puerto Rico investor conference, alleging the company was withholding negative Phase 3 SOL‑1 results. Ocular is currently in a self‑imposed quiet period ahead of the pivotal...
STAT+: Vertex’s CRISPR Treatment for Sickle Cell Disease Hits Unexpected Roadblock
Vertex's CRISPR‑based therapy Casgevy, approved over two years ago for sickle cell disease, has treated only about 60 patients globally. The slowdown stems from an unexpected manufacturing hurdle: centers cannot harvest enough autologous cells to produce the drug. This bottleneck...
STAT+: Novo Strikes Deal for Diabetes Cell Therapies
Novo Nordisk announced a strategic deal to acquire Aspect Biosystems, a 3‑D bioprinting company specializing in cell‑based therapies. The acquisition aims to accelerate Novo's development of encapsulated beta‑cell products for type 1 diabetes, leveraging Aspect's platform to scale manufacturing. Financial terms...
STAT+: Secretive Project Prometheus Takes VC Bob Nelsen Beyond Just Health Care
Venture capitalist Bob Nelsen is spearheading Project Prometheus, an AI‑driven venture that fuses artificial intelligence with physics. The startup is co‑led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former Foresite Capital AI chief Vik Bajaj, with renowned scientist Rick Klausner on board. While...