Frank Vinluan

1 week ago | medcitynews.com | Frank Vinluan

The numbers for first quarter 2025 biotech financings are in and they show a downturn in investments. A total of $6.5 billion was raised in the first quarter compared to $8.1 billion in the same period in 2024, according to figures tallied by data analytics company GlobalData. The firm counted 162 venture capital investments in the quarter, down 9% compared to the first quarter of 2024. The top therapeutic area was oncology, which accounted for 76 deals by 217 investors.

1 week ago | medcitynews.com | Frank Vinluan

Cytokinetics aims to compete with a Bristol Myers Squibb heart drug projected to become a blockbuster seller, and the company’s value proposition is that its drug candidate has a potential safety edge. The biotech needs to wait a little longer to see what the FDA thinks. The agency has pushed back the September target date for a regulatory decision in order to review a proposed safety plan for the drug, aficamten, Cytokinetics announced after Thursday’s market close.

2 weeks ago | medcitynews.com | Frank Vinluan

A Johnson & Johnson autoimmune disease medicine that’s a relative latecomer in its drug class can now compete in its first FDA-approved indication with a label that covers a broader patient population than products already available from Argenx and UCB. The FDA has approved the J&J drug, known in development as nipocalimab, as a treatment for generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG).

2 weeks ago | medcitynews.com | Frank Vinluan

Novartis has made kidney disorders an area of focus, and it’s now adding a new drug prospect through a deal to acquire Regulus Therapeutics, a biotech with a drug ready for pivotal testing in a rare renal disease that has limited treatment options. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant on Wednesday said it agreed to pay $800 million up front to buy Regulus. Shareholders of the San Diego-based biotech could get more if its lead asset, a genetic medicine called farabursen, passes regulatory muster.

2 weeks ago | medcitynews.com | Frank Vinluan

Patients who have the most severe form of a certain inherited disease have skin that is susceptible to wounds, some that never fully heal. For years, the only treatment was supportive care, including laborious and frequent changes of wound dressings covering much of the body. Biotechnology research in this disease, epidermolysis bullosa (EB), has pursued therapeutic options.