Paul Bonanos

Biogen Licenses Oral C5aR1 Antagonist from Vanqua Bio to Expand Immunology Portfolio The oral C5aR1 antagonist is designed to modulate neutrophil-driven inflammation, a central mechanism underlying many inflammatory diseases CAMBRIDGE,...

Biogen is in-licensing Vanqua's C5aR1 program for $70m up front, plus $990m in potential milestones. It's an oral small molecule that complements a mAb in BIIB's pipeline, obtained via its HI-Bio acquisition. Two shots at a pipeline-in-a-product to treat inflammatory diseases.

Treating obesity by quelling inflammation in the brain Preclinical data suggest NLRP3 could be an important new target for treating obesity. Among the benefits could be oral dosing with fewer side effects than ...

Ventyx Biosciences' shares are set to double (+100% premarket) following a readout for its CNS-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor in patients with obesity and CV risk factors: www.globenewswire.com/news-release...

My colleague @stephenhansen.bsky.social wrote about the mechanism last year. Story below.

With Takeda deal, Innovent takes giant step toward global innovation Innovent has long sought to evolve from an oncology leader in China to a global innovator. A deal with Takeda on Wednesday around three products represents...

A deal with Takeda could prove transformative for China-based Innovent Biologics as the partners seek to co-commercialize a bispecific oncology therapy in the U.S. Two other therapies are part of the deal as well; a $1.2 billion upfront component could turn into $11.4 billion in total payments.

Akero Therapeutics to be Acquired by Novo Nordisk for up to $5.2 Billion Shareholders to Receive $54 Per Share in Cash and CVR of $6 Per Share  Advances Akero’s Mission of Bringing Novel Therapies to Patients with High Unmet...

FGF21 agonist M&A:

May 2025: GSK pays $1.2b upfront for Boston Pharma's efimosferin; deal includes $800m in milestones

Sept. 2025: Roche buys 89bio for $2.4b upfront, gaining pegozafermin; $1b CVR

Today: Novo buys Akero for $4.7b upfront, adding efruxifermin; ~$500m CVR

Former CBER Director Marks joins Lilly Peter Marks has joined Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) as SVP for molecule discovery and head of infectious diseases, marking his return to industry after ne...

Months after RFK Jr and Marty Makary pushed Peter Marks out of FDA, the former CBER director has taken an SVP role at Lilly. @steveusdin.bsky.social has the scoop in @biocentury.bsky.social.

Seeing opportunities among headwinds, TCG X closes $1.3B third fund Despite headwinds facing the biotech industry, TCG Crossover’s Chen Yu believes the firm will deploy its new $1.3 billion fund during “a...

TCG X's Chen Yu has reasons to be optimistic during a difficult cycle for biotech investors. I spoke with him about the firm's newly disclosed $1.3 billion third fund, its largest yet. Story: www.biocentury.com/article/6571...

Lazard survey: Large caps could consolidate as biopharmas face variety of pressures Executives and investors surveyed by Lazard increasingly believe consolidation among large-cap biopharmas is likely, while industry leaders see U.S. admini...

Lazard's annual biopharma survey is out this morning. I spoke with the firm's David Gluckman about the risks and challenges the industry faces -- and some reasons to be optimistic. Story (no paywall): www.biocentury.com/article/6570...

Our story in @biocentury.bsky.social, by @steveusdin.bsky.social.

Corsera: Maraganore, Meanwell bring the disease interception model to CV risk Rooted in the belief that some cases of cardiovascular disease can be forestalled by identifying risk at an early age, a start-up led by biotech veterans J...

I spoke with @jmaraganore.bsky.social and Clive Meanwell about their new company, Corsera Health. They're seeking to apply the disease interception model to CV health -- identifying risk at an early age and stopping disease from developing in at-risk people. My story:

Six. Six weeks after resubmission. But five weeks after today: Sept. 26, 2025.

FDA’s about-face on Stealth a positive sign for rare disease therapies? Following FDA’s denial of a request to reconsider a complete response letter, the agency is now promising an unusually quick review for St...

What to make of FDA's about-face on Stealth BioTherapeutics' therapy for Barth syndrome? Denied CRL appeal, then signaled it would conduct an unusually quick review -- with a decision due just five weeks after resubmission. Pressure from patient advocates seems to be a factor. Story:

From FDA's release: “Randomized trials are not always needed to approve medical products and this approval is proof of that philosophy,” said Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). “The FDA will always demand the correct clinical study for the specific medical product and disease. Our requirements for products given to tens of millions of healthy people will be different than products given to at most hundreds or thousands of patients with unique diseases.”

FDA granted full approval to a treatment for a rare disease based on a single-arm study of 35 evaluable patients, even though its sponsor was seeking accelerated approval. No confirmatory trial needed. And this, from CBER director Vinay Prasad, seems like a signal: www.fda.gov/news-events/...

Expedition picks Fosun therapy for first China in-licensing agreement: Deals Report A start-up hunting for in-licensing opportunities in China has closed its first deal, gaining most global rights to a program from Fosun.Backed by Venrock,...

VC-backed Expedition Therapeutics, set up to in-license assets from China and develop them in the West, has struck a deal with Fosun for a clinical DPP-1 inhibitor to treat inflammatory and respiratory indications. $17m up front, $628m in milestones. Read about it in BioCentury's Deals Report 👇

Thing Called Love “Bonnie found the song,” Don Was explains. “We both knew Bring the Family, but Bonnie’s the one that wanted to do (‘Thing Called Love’). And we had a hell of a time cutting it, too. It was the hardest song to record, and that was because of Jim Keltner. It’s this crazy juxtaposition. He’s got like two different feels going at once. It’s a shuffle against straight time, and without that, you can’t really do justice to the song. So we struggled with that for a long time, trying to figure out what was going on there, what was the thing that was making it dance.” Keltner humbly credits Ry Cooder’s guitar work, however, as being the secret ingredient to that particular song’s success. “That’s Ry, that’s totally Ry,” Keltner confesses. “That’s Cooder at his best, his finest.”

So good, and it never gets old. He asked three people to come make a record, they all said yes, and they all aced the assignment. He had ten songs, and there are no outtakes. Lightning in a bottle. web.archive.org/web/20250208...

YouTube video by John Hiatt - Topic Thing Called Love

John Hiatt was living month-to-month when he signed with A&M in 1987. He made 'Bring the Family' in four days, bunking at a Holiday Inn with his three band members, Nick Lowe, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner. Two years later, Bonnie Raitt's cover of "Thing Called Love" made him a wealthy man.

YouTube video by Yep Roc Records Nick Lowe - "Rollers Show" (Official Audio)

Fab. And you don't have to be a Bay City Rollers fan to love a song about going to see them play -- with their real names in the lyrics: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKKE...

Five LP jackets: ‘This Year’s Model,’ ‘Jesus of Cool’ atop ‘Pure Pop for Now People,’ ‘Parallel Lines’ and ‘Q: Are We Not Men?’

Those are all staples in this household. (Look how much we love Nick.)

Good question, and it's good to see activity in the vaccine arena, especially 10-figure M&A.

I can't speak to Sanofi's risk calculus, but the pharma did say the deal allows it “to offer increased physician and patient choice in RSV and hMPV by adding a non-mRNA vaccine to its pipeline.”

First clinical evidence spurs Sanofi’s takeout of Vicebio for $1.15B up front Early data emerging from a clinical study of the first product derived from Vicebio’s vaccine platform have spurred Sanofi’s decision to acqu...

ICYMI (overnight in many geographies) -- Sanofi is paying $1.15b up front to acquire venture-backed vaccine company Vicebio. Early clinical data were the deal's trigger, chairman Giovanni Mariggi of founding investor Medicxi tells me. Story: www.biocentury.com/article/6565...

Merck to gain fast-selling COPD therapy via $10B Verona buyout In Robert Davis’ third 11-figure deal since ascending to the CEO role in 2021, Merck is paying $10 billion to obtain a fast-growing therapy for...

And here's our story on Merck/Verona. The pharma gets a drug with multibillion-dollar potential, a first-in-class therapy for a large indication with plenty of unmet need. The deal is also a morale boost for the U.K. biotech arena, with potential to recycle talent back into the sector.

Merck to Acquire Verona Pharma, Expanding its Portfolio to Include Ohtuvayre® (ensifentrine), a First-In-Class COPD Maintenance Treatment for Adults and Expected to Drive Growth into the Next Decade -... Acquisition aligns with Merck’s science-led business development strategy and expands pipeline and portfolio of treatments for cardio-pulmonary diseases Merck to hold investor call at 8 a.m. ET today ...

Good morning #biosky! Merck/MSD is paying $10b to acquire Verona Pharma, obtaining an approved PDE3/PDE4 dual inhibitor for COPD. $107/share price is a 23% premium over Tuesday's close. www.merck.com/news/merck-t...

READ THE COMPLAINT: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Splice Bio: gene therapies that reassemble large proteins in vivo Gene therapy company Splice Bio has attracted the largest series A funding in history for a Spanish biotech as it advances a lead ophthalmology progra...

Here's my 2022 story about SpliceBio, from the time of its series A. The company uses engineered inteins to reassemble large proteins in vivo after they're delivered via separate AAV vectors: www.biocentury.com/article/6422...

SpliceBio's new round is the largest ever -- by a lot -- for a Spain-based biotech, according to BioCentury's BCIQ database.

We've been watching the life sciences ecosystem grow in Spain for some time, and early SpliceBio investor Ysios has been a major driver: www.biocentury.com/article/6410...

Intellia NTLA is -28% just after the morning bell. The biotech disclosed a case of liver toxicity in its Phase 3 amyloidosis study, here in an 8-K and apparently on a private call with analysts last evening: www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Arch...

Vima’s executive officers: Bernard Ravina, MD, MS, founder and chief executive officer, has over 25 years of drug development experience in government, academia, and industry, and was a practicing neurologist specializing in movement disorders. He has served in leadership positions at Biogen, Voyager Therapeutics, and Praxis Medicines. Judith Dunn, PhD, president and head of R&D, has 30+ years of drug development experience and has held leadership roles in biotech and pharma, including global head of clinical development at Roche. Jessica Fees, chief financial officer, brings over 20 years of finance and strategic leadership experience in the biotech industry. Prior to Vima, she served as chief financial officer at Surface Oncology. Ariel D. Jasie, JD, chief business officer and general counsel, has over 20 years of industry experience and has served as chief business officer and general counsel to multiple private biotech companies. Tushar Misra, PhD, chief technical officer, has been in the pharmaceutical industry for over 30 years and has worked across the entire value chain from R&D to Commercialization, with leadership roles at many companies, including Wyeth, Sepracor, and Takeda.

Here's a $60m series A for Vima, a newly launched company "with a singular focus: to change the lives of patients with dystonia." That's from co-founder/chairman David Grayzel of Atlas Venture, which led the round. Release here, management team in screenshot:
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...

And here's the release from Taysha $TSHA: www.globenewswire.com/news-release...

No follow-ons in April as drought crosses five-week threshold: Finance Report For the first time in at least six years, public life sciences companies disclosed zero follow-on fundings of $25 million or more in a calendar month,...

We had noted the slowdown in follow-on activity amid high volatility this year, with no substantial NASDAQ offerings at all by biotechs during April. The overnight offering from Taysha ($200m last evening), looks like the biggest by a biotech since March. Story: www.biocentury.com/article/6558...

RBL LLC Announces Launch of Sentinel BioTherapeutics at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting /PRNewswire/ -- RBL LLC, a pioneering biotech venture creation studio dedicated to rapidly building companies based on breakthrough medical technologies from...

And here's today's news release from Sentinel BioTherapeutics, describing the IL-2 immune activator as a priming agent for checkpoint inhibition: www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

Why Rice is launching a venture studio in Houston’s emerging biotech ecosystem The founders of Rice University’s new venture studio believe they can incubate and launch multiple new biotechs each year, capitalizing on a maturi...

RBL, the venture studio formed last year with ties to Rice University and KdT Ventures, has just introduced its first biotech spinout. Sentinel BioTherapeutics will present Phase I data at ASCO for its IL-2 program for immuno-oncology. Our October story on RBL: www.biocentury.com/article/6539...