Agent Capital

Interius BioTherapeutics Doses First Patient with in vivo Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Gene Therapy for B-cell Malignancies “This milestone marks the first time that a durable in vivo CAR therapy has been used in the clinic. INT2104 has the potential to overcome ex vivo CAR therapy challenges with a single-dose, off-the-shelf, widely accessible therapy for the treatment of B cell malignancies enabled by Interius’s programmable platform." - Interius President and CEO, Phil Johnson, M.D. https://lnkd.in/ezvYT_Av

Skyhawk Therapeutics Presents Compelling Preclinical Data on SKY-1214 at the EORTC-NCI-AACR Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Symposium SKY-1214, an IND-ready first-in-class FANCL/FANCI RNA splicing modulator, demonstrates tumor growth inhibition and regression to undetectable levels in NHL and difficult-to-treat MM xenograft mouse models

Q32 Bio to Present Tissue-Targeted Complement Inhibitor ADX-097 Positive Phase 1 Clinical Trial Results at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2024 The poster presentation will highlight data from completed first-in-human, Phase 1 ascending dose clinical trial of ADX-097 in healthy volunteers. The results support Phase 2 dose selection and continued clinical advancement of ADX-097. https://lnkd.in/e3NgR8RY

Cyrus Biotechnology Congratulates Co-Founder David Baker on winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Demis Hassabis and John Jumper from Google DeepMind for their extraordinary discoveries in designing and predicting protein structures. "By applying the technology created by Baker's team, Cyrus scientists are solving some of the biggest challenges of protein drugs, while also developing our own algorithms and new datasets in-house and with the Openfold AI consortium that Cyrus co-founded in 2022.” https://lnkd.in/eDA3HKRU

Zenas BioPharma Announces Pricing of Upsized Initial Public Offering Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (“Zenas”), (Nasdaq: ZBIO) a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company committed to being a leader in the development and commercialization of transformative immunology-based therapies, today announced the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 13,235,294 shares of its common stock at an initial public offering price of $17.00 per share. All of the shares are being offered by Zenas. The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $225.0 million. Zenas’ common stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on September 13, 2024 under the ticker symbol “ZBIO”. The offering is expected to close on September 16, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. In addition, Zenas has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,985,294 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Citigroup, and Guggenheim Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. SOURCE: Zenas Bio https://lnkd.in/e9YmZnwJ

Metagenomi Announces Preclinical Data for Lead Hemophilia A Program Demonstrating Durable Factor VIII (FVIII) Activity Levels through Twelve Months Metagenomi, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGX), a precision genetic medicines company committed to developing curative therapeutics for patients using its proprietary gene editing toolbox, recently announced data from an ongoing preclinical study designed to provide evidence supporting the potential durability and safety of the company’s hemophilia A gene editing investigational therapy, MGX-001. The twelve-month durability data from Metagenomi’s ongoing nonhuman primate (NHP) study in hemophilia A remains generally consistent with data previously released at 4.5 months. The NHPs remain healthy and exhibit normal weight gain. The treatment is generally well tolerated and the program is on track for IND filing in 2026. https://lnkd.in/g3XAnmgQ

Metagenomi Reports Business Updates and Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results - Declared development candidate MGX-001 for the treatment of hemophilia A;  plans to present 12-month NHP durability study data in September 2024 - All Wave 1 Ionis collaboration programs advancing in lead optimization, unlocking potential for multiple development candidate nominations in 2025  Achieved milestone from partner Affini-T related to Metagenomi licensed technology - Well capitalized with $299.9M in cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale marketable securities at the end of Q2 2024; cash runway anticipated to support operating plans into 2027 https://lnkd.in/e62_VjQ4

Palvella Therapeutics and Pieris Pharmaceuticals Announce Definitive Merger Agreement Proposed merger to create a Nasdaq-listed, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel treatments for serious, rare genetic skin diseases for which there are no FDA-approved therapies. Combined company is expected to have approximately $80.5 million of cash and cash equivalents at closing, including approximately $78.9 million from an oversubscribed private financing with participation from a syndicate of leading healthcare-dedicated investors, which is expected to provide cash runway into the second half of 2027. Anticipated cash and cash equivalents are expected to fund combined company through multiple clinical trial milestones, including pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial results from a single-arm, baseline-controlled clinical trial of QTORIN™3.9% rapamycin anhydrous gel (QTORIN™ rapamycin) for the treatment of microcystic lymphatic malformations currently being conducted under FDA's Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Fast Track Designation programs. QTORIN™ rapamycin has the potential to be the first approved therapy and standard of care in the U.S. for microcystic lymphatic malformations and cutaneous venous malformations, if approved. Source: Pieris Pharmaceuticals Link: https://lnkd.in/eZnW3r2Z

Vittoria Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company, announces a recent publication by investigators at the University of Pennsylvania in the peer-reviewed journal, Science Immunology. The publication details the critical influence of CD5, a key immunomodulatory protein, on engineered T-cell therapies, which is the foundational basis of the company’s proprietary Senza5TMplatform. This technology, developed by the University of Pennsylvania and exclusively licensed to Vittoria, leverages the therapeutic potential of CD5 modulation to enhance the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies and underscores its utility across multiple hematological and solid tumor animal models. To learn more in-depth about these approaches, which underline Vittoria’s Senza5TM platform, the full publication is available here: https://lnkd.in/eD4D7NmK. Source: Vittoria Biotherapeutics

Join John Glasspool, Venture Partner at Agent Capital, and Cartier Esham, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization) for a discussion of the 2024 BIOSECURE act. https://lnkd.in/eWvVn6js