New hires:
Klick Health, a 2023 MM+M Agency 100 honoree, announced that Tim Jones, a 20-time Cannes Lions and 44-time Clio Awards recipient, has joined its London-based office as executive creative director.
Vernal Biosciences added Sven Lee as chief commercial officer and Richard P. Hamel as chief financial officer.
Evozyne named Marc Yoskowitz as CEO.
Biotech Immunome appointed Phil Roberts as chief technical officer.
Third Harmonic Bio named Christopher Murphy as chief financial and business officer.
Houlian Lokey made two senior hires, bringing in Dudley Baker as managing director for healthcare information technology while Kerr Robertson joined as managing director of behavioral and other healthcare services.
PR agency Allison brought on Paddi Hurley as MD of its health practice.
Healthy.io announced Geoff Martin will take over as CEO, succeeding Yonatan Adiri, who will now serve as president of the company. Martin previously served as president of Olive, a defunct healthcare AI company, as well as global CEO of GE HealthCare‘s Partners group.
NiKang Therapeutics tapped Joanne Lager, MD, as chief medical officer.
France-based Evexta Bio appointed Paul Gineste, PharmD as chief development officer.
Executive elevations:
Scorpion Therapeutics named founder and president of corporate strategy and business development Adam Friedman, MD, PhD as CEO and promoted Erica Jackson, PhD to chief medical officer.
Roger Haskins was promoted to partner at Peregrine Market Access.
HealthCare Royalty promoted four workers: Amy Zacharias to SVP of finance, Michele Romaniello to SVP of operations, Dr. Yichen Wang to VP of research and
Evan Bograd to senior associate for investments.
Board appointments:
Scorpion also expanded its board of directors to include industry veteran Jeff Albers as executive chair.
Departures:
As part of Scorpion’s moves, former CEO Axel Hoos, MD, PhD and chief medical officer Michael Streit, MD have left the company.
FDA:
Medicus Pharma submitted a Phase 2 Investigational New Drug clinical protocol to the agency for (SKNJCT-003) to non-invasively treat basal cell carcinoma.
Deals:
Novartis inked a strategic collaboration and capsid license agreement with Voyager Therapeutics that could total $1.3 billion.
AbbVie struck a pair of exclusive option and license agreements with Umoja Biopharma aimed at developing new CAR-T cancer therapy candidates.
Tome Biosciences acquired Replace Therapeutics for $65 million upfront and will make other near-term milestone payments for a total deal value of up to $185 million.
Roche paid $50 million upfront to collaborate with MediLink Therapeutics, a biotech based in China.
Boehringer Ingelheim announced a collaboration with Suzhou Ribo Life Science and Ribocure Pharmaceuticals AB to develop novel treatments for nonalcoholic or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
Boston-based biopharma Elektrofi announced a multi-million-dollar licensing and collaboration agreement with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Biotech to develop a subcutaneous version of a cancer drug for self-administration.
AstraZeneca entered into an exclusive option and global license deal with biotechnology company Allorion Therapeutics.
Hera Biotech acquired the endometriosis diagnostic assets and associated intellectual property of single-cell and AI-driven biomarker discovery company Scailyte.
Boehringer Ingelheim exercised its option to license a number of cancer antigens discovered and validated through the ongoing collaboration using Enara Bio’s Dark Antigen discovery platform.
Sitryx Therapeutics announced Eli Lilly commenced a Phase 1 first-in-human study of SIT-011, a post-translational modification modulator program for chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Verrica Pharmaceuticals unveiled a specialty pharmacy partnership agreement with Walgreens to distribute Ycanth.
Astellas Pharma acquired Propella Therapeutics, a portfolio company of Peterson Companies.
Funding rounds:
Goldman Sachs Asset Management closed West Street Life Sciences I, its $650 million life sciences investment fund.
Verona Pharma entered into a debt facility of up to $400 million with Oxford Finance and Hercules Capital.
ImmunityBio announced an up to $320 million royalty financing and equity investment by Oberland Capital.
Beijing Avistone Biotechnology Co. closed a $140 million Series B funding round.
Human Immunology Biosciences closed a $95 million Series B financing led by Alpha Wave Global.
Biotechnology startup Moonwalk Biosciences raised $57 million in venture capital.
CG Oncology filed for an initial public offering to trade on the Nasdaq with underwriters Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Cantor and LifeSci Capital.
Industry news:
CG Life, a 2023 MM+M Agency 100 honoree, rolled out a brand refresh to highlight its commitment to science.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel issued his 2023 shareholder letter, detailing the company’s ongoing transition from its COVID-19 pandemic-focused operations to treating more disease states and underscored its commitment to mRNA technology.
CVS Caremark announced it will replace AbbVie’s Humira from its list of covered drugs with cheaper alternatives for some customers.
Eli Lilly unveiled LillyDirect, a website that will allow patients to get a weight loss drug prescription through a telehealth provider.
Citius Pharmaceuticals completed enrollment in the Mino-Lok Phase 3 trial and said topline results anticipated in Q2 2024.
Dyne Therapeutics’ experimental treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) showed promise in new data from a small Phase 1/2 trial dubbed DELIVER.
Bank of America strategists lowered their rating of Bristol Myers Squibb.
Thermo Fisher Scientific launched the new Axiom PangenomiX Array to offer genetic coverage for population scale disease studies and pharmacogenomic research.
Bayer announced its gene therapy against Parkinson’s disease succeeded in an early-stage trial.
Octapharma USA announced Balfaxar is now available in the U.S.
Agios Pharmaceuticals announced a late-stage study of its pyrukynd anemia drug hit its goals in certain patients with the inherited blood disorder thalassemia.
Preventative health and longevity company Viome published a clinical study in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicineshowcasing the efficacy of its Precision Nutrition Program.
Salarius Pharmaceuticals resumed its Phase 1/2 clinical trial testing seclidemstat in combination with azacitidine to treat hematologic cancers.
Rare Patient Voice announced it has awarded patients and family caregivers more than $13 million dollars since the company was founded in 2013.
Medical marketing veteran Paulette McCarron passed away. McCarron most recently served as SVP of brand experience at Publicis Collective and had prior stints at Havas, Publicis Health Media as well as Harrison & Star.
