bluebird bio has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by private-equity firms Carlyle Group and SK Capital Partners in collaboration with a team of highly experienced biotech executives in a deal worth up to $96 million. David Meek, former CEO of Mirati Therapeutics and Ipsen, is expected to become CEO of bluebird upon closing. Carlyle and SK Capital will […]

Stoke Therapeutics has entered into a collaboration with Biogen on the development and commercialization of zorevunersen, a potential first-in-class treatment for a form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome. Zorevunersen is an investigational antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) that targets the SCN1A gene, the underlying cause of most cases of Dravet syndrome. Upon closing of the transaction, Stoke will […]

In late January, Sage Therapeutics announced that its Board of Directors had unanimously rejected the unsolicited, nonbinding proposal it received from Biogen after concluding that the proposal significantly undervalues Sage and is not in the best interest of its shareholders. (Biogen had offered to acquire all outstanding shares of Sage for $7.22 per share.) In addition, the Board […]

 Vertex Pharmaceuticals has announced that the FDA has approved Journavx (suzetrigine) for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe acute pain, like the kind that follows surgery, accident or injury. Journavx is an effective, well-tolerated medicine without evidence of addictive potential. “Today’s approval is a historic milestone for the 80 million people in America who are prescribed […]

Cambridge-based Anthos Therapeutics and its parent company, private investment platform Blackstone Life Sciences, have entered into an agreement with Novartis to acquire Anthos for up to $3.1 billion. Anthos was founded by Blackstone Life Sciences and Novartis in 2019 with the exclusive global rights from Novartis to develop, manufacture, and commercialize abelacimab, a novel factor XI inhibitor […]

In a sign of a biotech rebound, Massachusetts-headquartered biopharma companies received $7.89 billion in venture capital (VC) funding, marking the first year-over-year increase since the pandemic, according to a newly released year-end report from biopharma member organization MassBio. For the first time ever, the report also found that private biopharma companies based in Boston collected more venture […]

Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Scorpion’s PI3Kα inhibitor STX-478 which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors. STX-478 could represent the next generation of PI3Kα targeting agents by selectively targeting the pathway in cancerous but not healthy cells, thus overcoming a key limitation […]

IDRx, a Boston-based, clinical-stage biopharm dedicated to developing precision therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is being acquired by GSK. Under the agreement, GSK will pay $1 billion upfront, with potential for an additional $150 million success-based regulatory approval milestone payment. The acquisition includes lead molecule IDRX-42 being developed as a first- […]

Cambridge-based gene editing company Editas Medicine is planning a critical pivot to optimize its cost structure, extend its cash runway into Q2 2027, and position the company to accelerate its intent to achieve in vivo human proof of concept in approximately two years. “Recent scientific breakthroughs by the Editas team have convinced us that the timelines around […]

Watertown-based Neumora Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharm with a pipeline consisting of seven clinical and pre-clinical brain disease programs, has announced disappointing results from a Phase 3 study of navacaprant for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The study did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in MDD study participants overall. “We are disappointed by […]