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Medicxi Links With Sosei Heptares For Orexin Agonist Vehicles

 
• By Mike Ward

After spending 12 months looking for promising orexin agonist candidates, asset-centric venture capitalist Medicxi finds answer close to home and commits up to €40M to create two companies underpinned by assets from Heptares Therapeutics.

Scientist

Underpinned by a strong background in the CNS space and experience with the orexin system, Medicxi, the European life sciences venture capitalist, is investing up to €40m in two asset-centric companies with assets spun out of Sosei Group's Heptares Therapeutics Ltd.. Both companies will focus on developing novel therapies based on positive modulators of the G protein-coupled receptors Orexin OX1 and OX2 for neurological diseases, including dual OX1/OX2 agonists. This is a group of molecules that has been on Medicxi’s wish list for some time.

“Orexin is one of the best validated targets and already a number of antagonists have been made. Minerva, one of...

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Sumitomo Parkinson’s Filing A Pivotal Moment For Japan’s iPSC Ambitions

 
• By Lisa Takagi

Sumitomo Pharma's iPSC therapy for Parkinson's has been filed for approval in Japan after showing safety and efficacy in a Phase I/II trial and may become one of the first such therapies to reach the market in the country, which has invested heavily in the modality.

Vertex’s Pain Drug Failure Adds To Investor Doubts

 
• By Andrew McConaghie

A Phase II trial to develop a second NaV1.8 pain signal inhibitor for acute pain has failed and the US FDA has given a thumbs down on Journavx’s path to broader use in peripheral neuropathic pain.

AbbVie Raises Full-Year Sales Guidance On Skyrizi/Rinvoq Strength

 
• By Joseph Haas

AbbVie now expects the two Humira successors to bring in $25bn this year. On its Q2 earnings call, the firm also pointed to strength in neuroscience, with 24% growth.

Biogen Edges Closer To Growth On Strong Q2

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Sales of Leqembi, Zurzuvae and Skyclarys contributed to Biogen’s sales and earnings guidance raise, positioning the company closer to potential growth.

More from Therapy Areas

Verona’s COPD Launch Success Sealed Merck Buyout Interest

 
• By Andrew McConaghie

SEC filings reveal that Merck was the sole bidder for Verona and its COPD drug Ohtuvayre, with the final $10bn deal wrapped up within a month.

Sumitomo Parkinson’s Filing A Pivotal Moment For Japan’s iPSC Ambitions

 
• By Lisa Takagi

Sumitomo Pharma's iPSC therapy for Parkinson's has been filed for approval in Japan after showing safety and efficacy in a Phase I/II trial and may become one of the first such therapies to reach the market in the country, which has invested heavily in the modality.

HHS mRNA Vaccine Wind-Down Has Limited Impact (And One Contract Isn’t Even mRNA)

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The news will have a big impact on pandemic preparedness but less immediate financial impact. Tiba Biotech was even “caught off guard” by its inclusion in the department’s culling of mRNA vaccine projects under BARDA, as its project was neither a vaccine nor mRNA-based.