ArsenalBio closed one of the largest VC rounds so far in 2024, raising $325m in series C funding, while Vaxcyte grossed $1.3bn in a follow-on offering. Also, Circle Pharma closed a $90m series D round and Jazz priced an $850m note sale, but IN8bio revealed a prioritization plan and job cuts.

Recent moves in the industry include C-suite shuffle at Quantum Biopharma, Affimed and GH Research, plus Belite Bio and Dyne Therapeutics get new chief medical officers.

Kamil Hamied, son of Cipla’s outgoing vice-chair M K Hamied, is set to re-join the company as non-executive director, following his "entrepreneurial journey." Does it signal a shift in the promoter group’s immediate considerations amid past stake sale speculation or mark routine top-level executive changes?

Historically, announcements from biotech companies have triggered stock price fluctuations as investors misinterpret the details. However, two recent instances suggest this pattern might be shifting.

Human milk could have a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments linked to the gut microbiome, says former Pfizer VP and Hilleman CEO Davinder Gill. He also talks about a halal meningitis vaccine, and tailwinds for an oral cholera vaccine now launched by Bharat Biotech in this fascinating interview

Following the pivotal data on Alnylam’s Amvuttra, all eyes turn to the next amyloidosis readout – that of AstraZeneca and Ionis’ Wainua. And the UK major’s ambitions do not stop there.

The company has created a single end-to-end cancer R&D organization to help it meet its ambitious oncology goals. Its chief medical officer Cristian Massacesi talks to Scrip about how developments in conducting clinical trials will help.

Tolebrutinib has missed its goal in the GEMINI 1 and 2 trials of reducing annualised relapse rate in multiple sclerosis patients but the Paris-headquartered firm is claiming a resounding victory for the BTK inhibitor in delaying disability progression in people with non-relapsing secondary progressive MS in the HERCULES study.

After 10 years of promised investment following its Nobel Prize for iPS cell research, Japan is cautiously narrowing regulations around the conditional approval of cell therapies and cutting some reimbursement prices. Commercial success remains mixed and some products have been withdrawn from the market.

Lilly and Novo Nordisk were top performers among large-cap pharma stocks, while the stock prices of Bristol Myers and Gilead declined the most.

Six biopharma companies have filed to list their shares on US exchanges so far this year, but the sums they are seeking are small.

Without a mega-merger like 2023’s Pfizer/Seagan takeout, M&A deals grew smaller during the first half of 2024, while volume rose. In alliance deals, H1 2024 activity somewhat mirrored activity from H1 2023.

Human milk could have a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments linked to the gut microbiome, says former Pfizer VP and Hilleman CEO Davinder Gill. He also talks about a halal meningitis vaccine, and tailwinds for an oral cholera vaccine now launched by Bharat Biotech in this fascinating interview

Ivonescimab has shown significant and "extremely commercially meaningful" improvements in progression-free survival versus Keytruda as a first-line therapy for lung cancer in a trial in China, potentially positioning it as a new chemo-free solution for all PD-L1-positive patients in this setting.

In this week's podcast edition of Five Must-Know Things: J&J interested in differentiated obesity assets; Kerendia hits in heart failure; strong HERCULES data keep Sanofi’s MS plans alive; WCLC preview; and Mankind sets eyes on 5x growth.

Survival and other benefits with J&J’s EGFR/MET inhibitor Rybrevant plus EGFR inhibitor Lazcluze relative to AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso in first-line EGFR-mutant NSCLC continued to improve at 31.1 months.

ArsenalBio closed one of the largest VC rounds so far in 2024, raising $325m in series C funding, while Vaxcyte grossed $1.3bn in a follow-on offering. Also, Circle Pharma closed a $90m series D round and Jazz priced an $850m note sale, but IN8bio revealed a prioritization plan and job cuts.

A Phase III trial with oral deucrictibant is underway for treatment of acute hereditary angioedema attacks, while the Swiss firm will begin a Phase III trial in prophylaxis later this year.

CorrectSequence led the pack of Chinese cell and gene therapy developers seeking new funding with a roughly $14m series A-plus round. In other modalities, antibody-focused developers Mabgeek and Novamab closed series Bs.

Scrip's APAC team selects notable quotes from recent interviews, conferences and other coverage to highlight the views of senior executives and officials on major topics facing the biopharma sector in the region and more widely.

HAYA, a pioneer in lncRNA, is teaming up with Lilly to discover novel targets and programmable RNA therapies for obesity and metabolic disorders.

The company announced data for a fixed-dose version of insulin efsitora as well as in patients switching from basal insulin, even as it prepares to present two other Phase III studies at EASD.

The company laid out a growth strategy to investors centered on three business units, $4bn in revenue by 2027 and $500m in cost savings. 

Following the pivotal data on Alnylam’s Amvuttra, all eyes turn to the next amyloidosis readout – that of AstraZeneca and Ionis’ Wainua. And the UK major’s ambitions do not stop there.