James Waldron

3 days ago | fiercebiotech.com | James Waldron

Bayer-owned BlueRock Therapeutics is laying off 50 employees and shuttering its research labs in Cambridge, Mass., in order to focus its resources on its priority cell therapies. The layoffs are spread across all of BlueRock’s sites, including the labs in Cambridge, a spokesperson for the biotech explained to Fierce via email. The Bayer subsidiary will continue to locate its headquarters in Cambridge, with research conducted at its New York and Toronto sites.

3 days ago | fiercebiotech.com | James Waldron

Rivus Pharmaceuticals’ fat-busting, muscle-sparing drug candidate reduced liver fat in a phase 2 trial while showcasing the drug's obesity potential. The biotech evaluated the candidate, dubbed HU6, in doses of either 150 mg, 300 mg or 450 mg in the mid-stage study of 221 adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) over six months.

3 days ago | fiercebiotech.com | James Waldron

Stuart Therapeutics’ dry eye disease drug has failed to demonstrate that it can increase tear production in a phase 3 test. The ophthalmic solution, called ST-100 or vezocolmitide, is a collagen mimetic peptide that is designed to repair disease-damaged collagen and improve cell health. ST-100 failed to demonstrate a significant rise in the proportion of patients who saw a more than 10mm increase in tear production after 29 days when compared to vehicle, missing the study’s primary endpoint.

4 days ago | fiercebiotech.com | James Waldron

Revolution Medicines has secured a potential funding infusion of up to $2 billion from Royalty Pharma in return for a slice of the profits if Revolution’s lead cancer drug makes it to market. Revolution launched a second phase 3 study of the candidate, a RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor called daraxonrasib, in patients with RAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) last month. A late-stage study of daraxonrasib in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is ongoing.

4 days ago | fiercebiotech.com | James Waldron

Having secured one of last year’s largest funding rounds, AI-focused Formation Bio is now eyeing up 545 million euros ($626 million) in potential paydays from a licensing deal with Sanofi. The French pharma has signed a pact that could reach 545 million euros in a combination of an upfront fee and milestone payments—although the companies didn’t offer a breakdown of the financials—in return for the license to Formation’s phase 3-stage oral dual JAK/SYK inhibitor gusacitinib.