Bristol and Regeneron sign separate cell therapy technology pacts, plus deals involving Takeda/ImmunoGen, Serina/AgeX, Cybin/Small Pharma, Taiho/Phost’in, Royalty/Ferring and Aardvark/GRI Bio.

With cash preservation in mind, Rubius will dissolve, while EQRx, Impel, Cybin and Graphite cut jobs. Meanwhile, Jounce is restructuring and it plans to merge with Redx, yet the dually troubled firms MEI Pharma and Infinity will combine, while VBL will disappear in a reverse merger with Notable Labs. 

Pharma will partner with SyntheX on targeted protein degradation, with Autolus on cell therapy safety. Novo Nordisk gets rights to Ventus’s lead compound in NASH and chronic kidney disease.

While the psychedelic approach to mental health has recently achieved some clinical and regulatory validation, executives in the space warn the drugs cannot cure all and barriers to market remain.