Bristol Myers Squibb and MyoKardia have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which BMS will acquire MyoKardia for $13.1 billion, or $225.00 per share in cash. The transaction was unanimously approved by both the BMS and MyoKardia Boards of Directors and is anticipated to close during the fourth quarter of 2020. MyoKardia is a […]

Walden Biosciences, headquartered in Cambridge, has launched with a $51 million Series A financing led by ARCH Venture Partners and UCB Ventures. Walden is seeking to develop breakthrough medicines that reverse the progression of both rare and common forms of kidney disease and restore renal function. The majority of renal drug development approaches focus on […]

Moderna has received a commitment of up to $56 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to fund the development of a mobile manufacturing protype that is capable of rapidly producing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines and therapeutics. The agreement builds on a previous assistance grant with DARPA established in 2013. The award is […]

Dewpoint Therapeutics has raised $77 million in a Series B financing round led by ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from both new and existing investors. “We are delighted to have ARCH Venture Partners lead this financing, and to welcome new investors into the condensate field,” said Amir Nashat, managing partner of Polaris Partners and interim […]

Biomolecular condensates, formed through a process called phase separation, are membraneless droplets inside cells that facilitate molecular interactions and help cells perform vital functions. Condensates have been shown to play a critical role in key biological processes and in serious, intractable diseases across areas including neurodegeneration, cancer, inflammation, infectious disease, metabolic disease, and rare genetic […]

Takeda has expanded its cell therapy manufacturing capabilities with the opening of a new 24,000 square-foot R&D cell therapy manufacturing facility at its R&D headquarters in Boston. The facility provides end-to-end research and development capabilities and will accelerate Takeda’s efforts to develop next-generation cell therapies, initially focused on oncology with potential to expand into other […]

Moderna and Vertex have announced a new strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement aimed at the discovery and development of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) and mRNAs for the delivery of gene-editing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF). The three-year research collaboration initially will focus on the discovery and optimization of novel LNPs and mRNAs that […]

Following confirmation that the Phase III trial of GERD drug IW-3718 failed to achieve the primary endpoint of achieving a statistically significant improvement in heartburn severity, Ironwood has announced plans to implement an organizational restructuring, reducing headcount by approximately 100 full-time employees, or nearly 35% of the current workforce. Following the changes, Ironwood expects to […]

Eli Lilly has announced proof of concept data from an interim analysis of the BLAZE-1 clinical trial, showing a reduced rate of hospitalization for patients treated with SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody LY-CoV555. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study evaluated LY-CoV555 for the treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 in the outpatient setting. LY-CoV555 is a potent, neutralizing […]

Eli Lilly and Amgen have entered into a global antibody manufacturing collaboration to significantly increase the supply capacity available for Lilly’s potential COVID-19 therapies. Lilly is currently studying several potential neutralizing antibodies for the prevention and/or treatment of COVID-19 as either monotherapy or in combination. Through this collaboration, the two companies will have the ability to quickly scale up […]