Roman Kasianov

insitro has secured $25 million in milestone payments from Bristol Myers Squibb for reaching discovery milestones and identifying the first novel genetic target for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This achievement builds on a five-year collaboration agreement established in 2020, focused on leveraging machine learning (ML) and experimental platforms to discover transformative therapies for ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Gameto, a biotechnology company focused on fertility treatments, announced the world’s first live birth using Fertilo, its ovarian support cell (OSC) technology that matures eggs outside the body.

After debuting with 370$ million capital raise in September 2024, Candid Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotechnology company specializing in T-cell engager (TCE) therapies for autoimmune diseases, has announced a research collaboration with EpimAb Biotherapeutics. EpimAb, headquartered in Shanghai, utilizes its Fabs-In-Tandem Immunoglobulin (FIT-Ig platform for the development of bispecific antibodies. The partnership will focus on discovering and developing novel T-cell engager candidates for a range of autoimmune indications.

Update: Candid Therapeutics has also announced two new collaborations with Nona Biosciences and Ab Studio. The partnership with Nona Biosciences will leverage its HBICE platform to develop next-generation T-cell engagers, with potential payments totaling $320 million. Meanwhile, the collaboration with Ab Studio focuses on discovering novel T-cell engager candidates using its antibody design tools, further expanding Candid’s pipeline for autoimmune indications.

Relay Therapeutics, a clinical-stage precision medicine company, has announced updated interim clinical data for its investigational allosteric PI3Kα inhibitor, RLY-2608, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The data reveal significant improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rates (ORR), building on previous results reported in September, when we highlighted the drug's promising early efficacy and safety profile. This new information hints at RLY-2608’s potential to redefine the standard of care for patients with PI3Kα-mutated HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer.

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage generative AI-driven drug discovery company, has announced the nomination of its 21st pre-clinical candidate, ISM8969, an orally available inhibitor of NLRP3 (NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3).

This milestone follows Insilico’s recent achievements, including a groundbreaking AI-enabled oncology milestone with Sanofi, the FDA IND clearance of ISM5939 for solid tumors, and the rapid progress of ISM5411, a gut-restricted PHD inhibitor for inflammatory bowel disease.

Relation Therapeutics announced two strategic collaborations with GSK aimed at advancing drug discovery for fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis, debilitating conditions with significant unmet medical needs. These collaborations will leverage Relation’s innovative discovery platform and GSK’s global development and commercialization expertise to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets.

Owkin has released FedPyDESeq2, a federated learning tool for differential expression analysis (DEA) in bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Designed to address challenges in large-scale transcriptomics studies, such as data privacy and siloed datasets, the tool enables collaborative analysis without sharing sensitive data. The tool is open-source, providing researchers with a practical solution for secure and effective DEA.

Chroma Medicine and Nvelop Therapeutics have announced their merger to form nChroma Bio, a new biotechnology company focused on advancing genetic medicines.

Alongside the merger, nChroma secured $75 million in financing led by Cormorant Asset Management, ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, and Newpath Partners, with participation from a broad syndicate of top-tier investors.

Cradle’s platform has achieved first place in Adaptyv Bio's protein design competition by producing a novel EGFR-binding protein with a binding affinity of 1.21 nM, outperforming Merck’s Cetuximab (9.94 nM) by 8-fold. This competition featured 130 teams and 1,131 designs, with only two outperforming Cetuximab.

Recursion (Nasdaq: RXRX) announced interim findings from the ongoing Phase 1/2 ELUCIDATE trial evaluating REC-617, a precision-designed, oral CDK7 inhibitor developed to address common resistance pathways in advanced solid tumors. The trial’s early results highlight a confirmed partial response in a heavily pre-treated patient and an overall favorable safety profile across multiple dose levels.