Daily Snap - 14. August 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
August 14, 2025

Good morning! Not sure where to focus your partnering efforts at the next big biotech conference? Keep an eye on South Korea. According to GlobalData, the country is climbing fast in global biopharma licensing, with deal values hitting $7.86 billion so far in 2025 — up 113% from last year. Sure, part of that surge comes after a global slowdown in 2024, but since the dip was seen across the board, South Korea’s rebound still stands out as a win.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

💵 Fund flood: Hatteras Venture Partners has raised over $200 million across two new funds. Celebrating its 25th anniversary and 100th investment, the North Carolina-based VC firm has now raised more than $900 million across seven funds. Hatteras’ portfolio includes successful companies such as Kymera Therapeutics and G1 Therapeutics, both of which achieved public listings and major partnerships. The announcement comes amid a competitive fundraising landscape, with several VC firms securing billion-dollar life sciences funds.

❌ Microbiome miss: Vedanta Biosciences announced that its oral microbiome therapy VE202 failed to meet the primary endpoint in a Phase II trial for mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis, showing no significant benefit over placebo in terms of endoscopic response. The 114-patient study also missed key secondary endpoints, such as clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. Despite the setback, VE202 was well tolerated, with no serious treatment-related adverse events. VE202 differs in composition and mechanism from Vedanta’s lead candidate VE303, which is in Phase III development for recurrent C. difficile infection.

🧹Workforce wipeout: Generation Bio is laying off 90% of its workforce as it struggles to secure the time and funding needed to advance its cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle (ctLNP) delivery technology into clinical development. Despite promising preclinical data, including significant siRNA-mediated protein knockdown in T cells in nonhuman primates, the Massachusetts-based biotech cited the early stage of its programs and limited cash runway as barriers to progress. The restructuring, which affects R&D, follows a previous 40% staff reduction in 2023 and comes as the company explores strategic alternatives. Generation ended June with $141.4 million in cash and aims to preserve resources amid ongoing uncertainty.

💰Longevity cash: Jocasta Neuroscience has raised $35 million in Series A funding to advance its lead therapeutic candidate, JN-0413, a proprietary formulation of the longevity protein a-Klotho, for treating cognitive impairment linked to neurodegenerative diseases. The financing will fund preclinical work and Phase 1 trials, with an IND submission expected in late 2026. The a-Klotho technology originated at UCSF and was previously developed by Unity Biotechnology before being licensed to Jocasta.

 🧪 Trial fatality: CytomX Therapeutics has reported a patient death in its Phase I trial of CX-2051, an experimental antibody-drug conjugate for colorectal cancer. The fatality was linked to treatment-related acute kidney injury in a patient with a solitary kidney. Despite the incident, a safety review committee has supported the continuation of the trial, and the event was reported to the FDA on July 18. Initial data for the study are expected in Q1 2026.

SPEED READ

✅ Good news

  • Eli Lilly’s Jaypirca matched or outperformed Imbruvica in a Phase III trial; showing overall response rates for CLL/SLL patients, demonstrating potential superiority in BTK inhibitor-naïve populations. 

  • Eyestem Research secured $10 million to complete Phase II trials in India and advance FDA preparations for its Eyecyte-RPE therapy targeting dry AMD-related geographic atrophy.

  • Compass Therapeutics raised $120 million in a public offering to fund development of antibody-based cancer therapies targeting angiogenesis, immune activation, and tumor immune evasion.

  • X4 Pharmaceuticals closed an upsized $85 million private placement to support mavorixafor’s development for chronic neutropenia and ongoing commercialization of WHIM syndrome treatment.

❌ Bad news

  • Sarepta sold $174 million in Arrowhead stock to extend its cash runway and partially fund a $400 million milestone payment by transferring shares instead of cash.

  • Oric Pharmaceuticals is cutting 20% of its workforce and ending discovery research to fund upcoming Phase 3 trials for its lead cancer drugs ORIC-944 and enozertinib.

  • Fate Therapeutics is laying off 12% of staff and narrowing its pipeline to extend funding through 2027 while advancing its lead cell therapies.

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