SNAPSHOT

Amgen buys Dark Blue for $840M to build its next-gen leukemia pipeline

Amgen is acquiring UK-based Dark Blue Therapeutics for up to $840 million to expand its preclinical oncology pipeline. This is being done to target acute leukemias through innovative protein degradation strategies and make use of Dark Blue´s small molecule oncology pipeline.

Why it matters: This deal signals Amgen’s commitment to building its cancer drug pipeline from the ground up, prioritizing novel science over late-stage assets, to potentially address hard-to-treat leukemias with poor survival rates.

Backstory: Dark Blue Therapeutics specializes in targeting transcriptional regulators, proteins that have historically been hard to drug. Its lead asset, DBT-3757, uses protein degradation (rather than inhibition) to target MLLT1/MLLT3 in acute myeloid (AML) and acute lymphoblastic (ALL) leukemia. Though still preclinical, it has first-in-class potential.

Zoom in: DBT-3757 aims to treat acute leukemias by degrading MLLT1 and MLLT3, key regulators in gene expression linked to cancer relapse. With over 50% of young AML patients and up to 90% of older ones relapsing after chemo, there's a pressing need for new mechanisms of action. This is especially pertinent given that five-year survival for relapsed AML is approximately 10%. Other targets in Dark Blue’s pipeline include ADAR1 and SMO.

Big picture: Pharma is increasingly embracing targeted protein degradation as a next-gen cancer strategy and signals that there is still interest in investing early in promising but unproven platforms.

What’s next: Dark Blue will be folded into Amgen’s oncology R&D. Focus now shifts to completing IND-enabling studies and moving DBT-3757 into clinical trials. Dark Blue’s approach could open new frontiers in transcriptional regulation

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🤝 Obesity alliance: Eli Lilly has entered a new partnership with Nimbus Therapeutics, committing up to $1.3 billion in milestone payments and royalties to develop an oral obesity treatment using Nimbus’ AI-driven, structure-based drug design platform. The deal includes $55 million in upfront and near-term payments and builds on a previous 2022 collaboration worth up to $496 million focused on metabolic disease therapies. This move strengthens Lilly’s position in the competitive oral obesity drug market, where it is also seeking FDA approval for orforglipron, and follows industry momentum fueled by Novo Nordisk’s oral version of its weight loss drug Wegovy.

 🧫  Kidney combo: Boehringer Ingelheim has formed a kidney disease-focused partnership with Variant Bio, potentially worth over $120 million in upfront, license, and milestone payments. The collaboration will leverage Variant’s AI-driven Inference platform, which integrates genomic, phenotypic, and multiomic data from global populations to identify new targets for cardiorenal and kidney diseases. This marks Boehringer’s second recent deal in the space, following a $448 million agreement with Rectify Pharmaceuticals. Already active in the field through its co-marketing of Jardiance and late-stage development of vicadrostat, Boehringer aims to accelerate the discovery of transformative therapies for kidney disease through this latest alliance.

🗺️ Target mapping: Pfizer has entered a cancer discovery collaboration with Cartography Biosciences worth up to $865 million, including $65 million in upfront, near-term milestone, and option payments. The partnership centers on using Cartography’s Atlas and Summit platforms to identify and validate tumor-selective antigens in an undisclosed disease area. These platforms leverage extensive datasets from healthy and tumor cells to uncover novel targets that may enhance therapeutic precision. Pfizer has the option to advance multiple antigen programs, assuming full R&D and commercialization responsibilities. This deal follows Pfizer’s recent pact with Adaptive Biotechnologies and builds on Cartography’s existing alliance with Gilead.

🥾 Seizure stomp: Bright Minds Biosciences reported positive phase 2 results for its lead candidate BMB-101, a serotonin 5-HT2C receptor agonist, showing significant seizure reduction in patients with drug-resistant absence seizures and developmental and encephalopathic epilepsies (DEEs). In the open-label trial, absence seizure patients saw a 73.1% average reduction in seizures and a 74.4% drop in seizure duration, while DEE patients experienced a 63.3% decrease in seizure frequency. The treatment was generally well tolerated, with mostly mild or moderate side effects. The data boosted Bright Minds’ stock and paves the way for future registrational trials and potential expansion into Prader-Willi syndrome.

🔄 Rights reversal: Instil Bio has ended its licensing agreement with ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals, returning the ex-China rights to two cancer therapies and discontinuing their clinical development. The deal, originally struck in August 2024 to revitalize Instil’s pipeline, included up to $2 billion in potential milestone payments. The lead asset, IMM2510, a bispecific antibody targeting PD-L1 and VEGF, had shown promising phase 2 data in non-small cell lung cancer, but Instil provided no explanation for its sudden reversal. The move also includes returning IMM27M, an anti-CTLA-4 antibody. Following the announcement, Instil’s stock dropped 44%, while ImmuneOnco reaffirmed its commitment to advancing both assets.

SNAP AGAIN

Alumis' psoriasis pill shows promise, stock doubles on trial success

Alumis’ TYK2 inhibitor, envudeucitinib, delivered strong results in two Phase 3 trials for psoriasis, helping 74% of patients achieve major skin lesion clearance. The stock value more than doubled as a reaction to the news.

Why it matters: These results suggest envudeucitinib could challenge both existing oral drugs like BMS’s Sotyktu and even injectable biologics, potentially reshaping the psoriasis treatment landscape with a convenient, high-efficacy pill.

Backstory: TYK2 inhibition has become a hot area in immunology for its link to a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines. BMS’s Sotyktu, approved in 2022, was first to market but has underperformed commercially with a mere $126M in the first 9 months of 2025. Alumis launched in 2021 (as Esker Therapeutics), went public in 2024, and recently acquired Acelyrin to bolster its pipeline.

Big picture: With several late-stage TYK2 inhibitors racing to market, including drugs from Takeda and J&J/Protagonist, oral treatments are emerging as credible rivals to blockbuster injectables like AbbVie’s Skyrizi. Winning this race could mean big market share in a multi-billion-dollar segment.

Zoom in: Envudeucitinib hit PASI75 (75% clearance of skin lesions) in 74% of patients after 4 months. 59% were rated fully “clear” or “almost clear” by physicians. In comparison, Takeda’s zasocitinib showed up to 68% PASI75 at 12 weeks and J&J’s icotrokinra achieved 77% PASI75 in trials. Envudeucitinib was well tolerated with mild/moderate side effects.

What’s next: Alumis plans to file for U.S. approval of envudeucitinib later in 2026, while continuing trials in Crohn’s disease, lupus, and other inflammatory conditions.

SPEED READ

More news

• LoQus23 Therapeutics has advanced LQT-23, an oral small molecule that targets MutSβ to suppress somatic expansion in Huntington’s disease, aiming for clinical trials in 2026.

• The FDA explained that it rejected Sanofi’s multiple sclerosis drug tolebrutinib due to high risk of fatal liver injury, unclear clinical benefit, and no identifiable patient group with favorable risk-benefit.

• Gilead Sciences has partnered with OncoNano Medicine in a deal worth up to $300 million to encapsulate a cancer candidate in tumor-targeting lipid micelles for enhanced delivery.

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