California-based biopharmaceutical firm BridgeBio Pharma announced a funding collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to evaluate a potential treatment for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers. 

Germany’s BioNTech is acquiring Kite’s solid tumor neoantigen T-cell receptor (TCR) research-and-development platform and the Gilead company’s clinical manufacturing plant in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

In a flurry of activity, multiple biopharma companies made their first appearance on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on June 25, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to advance the development of next-generation therapeutics and scale their businesses.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Eisai forged a strategic collaboration that could be worth nearly $2.5 billion to jointly develop MORAb-202, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) to be used against certain solid tumors across several different cancer types.

Nanobiotix is developing a way for the company’s locally injected radioenhancer for solid tumors to treat metastasized cancers, in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, and also deliver results distally.

Based in South San Francisco, Lyell Pharmaceuticals filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with plans to raise $150 million. The preclinical biotech raked in $493 million in a Series C round on March 12, 2020. 

Xilio Therapeutics is evaluating the company’s tumor-selective anti-CTLA-4 antibody XTX101 with Merck’s programmed death receptor-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab). The clinical trial – which will be conducted by Xilio – will assess XTX101’s safety and efficacy as a monotherapy, as well as in combination with Keytruda, in solid tumors.

Takeda Pharmaceutical is advancing the Japanese pharma giant’s immune-oncology portfolio through the acquisition of the immunotherapy pioneer Maverick Therapeutics.

As the 2021 virtual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference wrapped up, BioSpace reviewed news from companies regarding their deals, pipeline and regulatory updates.

Relay Therapeutics entered a global license and collaboration agreement with Genentech for the commercialization and development of RLY-1971, a potent inhibitor of SHP2.