Feliza Mirasol is the science editor for 

Feliza Mirasol

US-based biotechnology company Crossbow Therapeutics announced an $80 million Series A funding round that was led by investment company MPM BioImpact and Pfizer Ventures. The funding will allow Crossbow to advance the development of novel antibody therapies that target peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complexes on cancer cells. The antibodies are T-cell receptor (TCR)-mimetics, according to a July 11, 2023 company press release.

The company uses its proprietary technology to develop TCR-mimetic antibodies with both high affinity and specificity for cancer cells. These TCR-mimetics are incorporated into off-the-shelf, easy-to-assemble T-cell engagers and other immunotherapies. The resulting products are known as tumor-bolts (T-Bolt) molecules, which can be adapted to address a broad range of cancers. The company can thus leverage these molecules to target the vast landscape of cancer proteins, according to the press release.

“We aim to cure cancer,” said Briggs Morrison, CEO, Crossbow Therapeutics, in the release. “ … [O]ur revolutionary T-Bolt products strike cancer cells like a crossbow shoots bolts at its target. The influx of additional capital enables us to scale our efforts to build an arsenal of TCR-mimetic-based immunotherapies designed to overcome the limitations of current treatments.”

“Our continued investment in Crossbow Therapeutics reflects our confidence in the team’s differentiated approach to vastly expand the range of targets for immunotherapies,” said Todd Foley, managing director of MPM BioImpact and co-founder and chair of the Crossbow board of directors, in the release.

The Series A funding was also supported by Polaris Partners, BVF Partners, Eli Lilly and Company, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, and Mirae Asset Capital.

Articles

Newly launched Crossbow Therapeutics will work to advance a novel class of antibody therapies for treating cancers.

Crossbow Therapeutics Debuts with $80 Million in Series A Financing to Advance Antibody Therapeutics

Bristol Myers Squibb has exercised its option to enter into an exclusive global license agreement with Germany-based Evotec, a drug discovery company, for selected late-stage discovery programs that were developed and progressed from a collaboration between the companies.

According to a July 11, 2023 press release, the companies originally formed a neurodegeneration partnership in 2016, which proved to be highly productive. Under the collaboration, Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb generated a pipeline of discovery-to-clinical-stage programs. The current licensing agreement expands on that original collaboration, extending the partnership to another eight years.

Under the license agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb has selected a number of programs (not disclosed) that were developed and progressed in a short time frame using Evotec’s precision medicine platforms. Based on this achievement, Evotec get a $40 million payment and is eligible to earn performance-based milestone payments. The company is also eligible to receive tiered royalties up to low double-digit percentages based on product sales, according to the press release.

“This license agreement will further bolster our joint pipeline of programs targeting several neurodegenerative conditions. We are confident that the strong collaboration of the experienced teams at Evotec and Bristol Myers Squibb will make novel innovative treatment options available to patients living with a broad range of neurodegenerative conditions,” said Cord Dohrmann, chief scientific officer, Evotec, in the release.

Under a global license agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb and Evotec will advance the development of neurodegeneration pipeline assets.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Evotec Extend Neuroscience Pact

On Jul 18, 2023, Novartis announced in its 2023 second quarter (Q2) earnings that its board of directors has unanimously endorsed the 100% spin-off of Sandoz, the company’s generics and biosimilars division, into a standalone, publicly traded entity. Novartis had previously announced its intent to separate the Sandoz business in August 2022 (1). The proposed spin-off is expected to happen early in the 2023 fourth quarter.

According to a company press release, the next step involves Novartis shareholders voting on the proposed spin-off and a related reduction of the share capital of Novartis AG at a general meeting planned on Sept. 15, 2023. The plan is for Sandoz to be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, with an American Depositary Receipt program in the United States.

Novartis reported in its Q2 earnings that Sandoz sales grew 8% for the quarter, with net sales of $2.4 billion. Growth was primarily driven by Europe, which totaled $1.3 billion. Global sales of biosimilars grew 13% to $531 million for the quarter.

According to Novartis’ Q2 earnings release, the spin-off of Sandoz is part of the company’s new strategy to transform itself into a “pure-play” innovative medicines business. It will now focus on five core therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, immunology, neuroscience, solid tumors, and hematology. The company also intends to prioritize three emerging technology platforms for cell and gene therapy, radioligand therapy, and xRNA (i.e., ribonucleosides). The company plans to prioritize continued investment into R&D capabilities and manufacturing scale for these three platforms.

1. Novartis, Novartis Announces Intention to Separate Sandoz Business to Create a Standalone Company by Way of a 100% Spin-Off. Press Release, Aug. 25, 2022.

The proposed spin-off of Sandoz into an independent entity has been approved by Novartis’ board of directors.

Sandoz Spin-off Gets Green Light from Novartis Board

Novartis has acquired DTx Pharma, a US-based, preclinical-stage biotechnology company, for an upfront payment of $500 million plus additional payments of up to $500 million, dependent on the completion of pre-specified milestones, the companies announced in their respective July 17, 2023 press releases.

DTx Pharma focuses on RNA-based therapeutics with its proprietary Fatty Acid Ligand Conjugated OligoNucleotide (FALCON) technology platform, which conjugates small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to naturally occurring fatty acids to enhance biodistribution and cellular uptake throughout the body. Under the acquisition, Novartis will gain access to the FALCON platform as well as DTx Pharma’s lead program, DTx-1252, a product candidate that targets the root cause of a subtype of Charcot-Marie Tooth disease (CMT)—CMT1A.

CMT1A is the overexpression of peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), a protein that causes the myelin sheath insulating the nerves in the peripheral nervous system to function abnormally. DTx-1252 has been shown to decrease the expression of PMP22 in Schwann cells (target cell type), allowing for the development, maintenance, and function of peripheral nerves, according to DTx Pharma’s company press release.

Also under the acquisition, Novartis will gain two additional preclinical programs for other neuroscience indications. Together with DTx-1252 and the FALCON platform, these assets will expand Novartis’ siRNA toolkit and allow the company to build on its xRNA (i.e., ribonucleosides) capabilities, according to Novartis’ press release.

“I am thrilled that Novartis will be moving forward with our CMT1A therapeutic program and the FALCON platform. With its resources and capabilities in neuromuscular diseases, Novartis is well positioned to accelerate the development of DTx-1252 and provide hope to patients, who are desperately in need of therapy,” said Artie Suckow, co-founder and CEO of DTx Pharma, in that company’s press release.

“We look forward to continuing the development of DTx’s therapeutic programs and bringing new hope to patients with neuromuscular and other neurological disorders for which there have historically been few treatment options,” said Fiona Marshall, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, in the Novartis press release. “We are also excited to bring DTx’s FALCON technology to Novartis and explore its potential to deliver drugs to extrahepatic tissues.”

Novartis’ acquisition of biotech company DTx Pharma boosts its neuroscience pipeline and expands its capabilities in RNA-based therapeutics.

Novartis Acquires DTx Pharma in Deal Worth Up to $1 Billion

metabion, a German manufacturer of custom oligonucleotides, announced on July 11, 2023 that it has increased its global production capacity for both diagnostic and new therapeutic oligonucleotides, as well as derivatives, at its new facility in Munich East, Germany. The company completed a double-digit million euro investment in the 2023 first quarter for the expansion project.

The company has planned, built, and established the new oligonucleotide manufacturing facility over the past two years. The facility is dedicated to the manufacturing of small-, mid-, and large-scale oligonucleotide components for 

 diagnostics/analyte-specific reagents oligonucleotides as well as mid-/large-scale oligonucleotides for R&D and therapeutic applications. The increased capacity is intended to support the rising demand in Europe and worldwide for diagnostic and therapeutic oligonucleotides, according to a company press release.

"With this investment, we are strengthening our CMO [custom manufacturing organization] segment and are committed to further expanding our growth area of business," said Regina Bichlmaier, CEO of metabion, in the company press release. "At the same time, we are responding to an increasing demand for highly customized diagnostic solutions including packaging/kitting/OEM [original equipment manufacturer] services and supporting early stage oligonucleotide-based drug development from lead discovery and optimization to pre-clinical development into clinical [P]hase I and II.”

German manufacturer metabion is conducting a multi-million euro expansion of its oligonucleotide manufacturing capacity in Munich East.

metabion Expands Oligonucleotide Production Capacity in Germany

On July 03, 2023, UK-based synthetic biology company Camena Bioscience announced that it has closed a $10 million Series A financing round, which was led by Mercia, a UK-based venture capital firm. With the new funding, Camena intends to scale operations and continue developing gSynth, its enzyme-based DNA synthesis platform.

According to a company press release, demand for DNA synthesis technology has been growing as synthetic genes are being widely used in research to better understand the mechanisms of disease and in the drug discovery process to combat disease. Cost, time, and accuracy of traditional DNA synthesis methods (developed in the 1980s) remains prohibitive, however, particularly when creating long or complex sequences of genes. The technology developed by Camena overcomes these limitations with the use of a novel enzymatic technology that can accurately produce synthetic DNA, according to the press release.

“We are delighted to have closed this latest round of funding with Mercia, which provides further validation of Camena’s approach. The ability to read, write, and manipulate DNA is the foundation of the synthetic biology value chain, yet developments in DNA synthesis have not kept pace with DNA sequencing and editing capabilities,” said Steve Harvey, CEO, Camena, in the release. “Camena’s gSynth platform is revolutionizing the DNA synthesis market by unlocking access to genes and accelerating discovery pipelines.”

“The invention of next-generation DNA sequencing technologies transformed our ability to ‘read’ DNA. Our goal is to enable our customers to ‘write’ DNA with the same confidence and ease,” Harvey added.

“The market for synthetic genes is growing rapidly, but much of the demand is for complex genes which are extremely difficult to produce accurately. Camena’s technology is a game changer that could unlock a much bigger global market. We’re excited to support Camena on its next stage of growth,” said Lee Lindley, investment manager, Mercia, in the release.

Camena Bioscience has completed $10 million in Series A financing on the back of growing demand for DNA synthesis.