Daily Snap - 15. July 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
July 14, 2025

Good morning! Following the drama surrounding 23andMe’s fate, its founder, Anne Wojcicki, is finally acquiring the company through a non-profit organisation. Sorry, Regeneron, $256 million was not enough to get hold of all this DNA data.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🏭 Manufacturing mess: The FDA has rejected Ultragenyx’s gene therapy UX111 for Sanfilippo syndrome Type A due to manufacturing concerns. While the agency requested more information about the company's production processes, Ultragenyx stated the issues are not related to product quality and believe they are easily addressable. Despite the setback and a recent disappointing trial update for another drug, analysts view the rejection as a delay rather than a denial, with expectations for eventual approval remaining positive.

😴 Sleep win: Takeda’s experimental narcolepsy drug, oveporexton, achieved successful outcomes in two phase 3 trials, demonstrating significant improvements in excessive daytime sleepiness and related symptoms in over 270 patients across 19 countries. With no serious treatment-related adverse events reported and strong efficacy across all doses, the results validate oveporexton’s orexin receptor 2-targeted mechanism, which mimics the body’s natural wakefulness cycle. Takeda plans to file for FDA approval within its current fiscal year, aiming for $2–$3 billion in peak sales.

🎩 TAM trick: South Korean biotech Illimis Therapeutics has raised $42 million in a Series B funding round to advance its Alzheimer’s drug candidate, ILM01, which utilizes the TAM receptor system to clear pathological proteins without inducing harmful inflammation. Unlike traditional antibody-based therapies that can cause neurotoxic side effects like amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, ILM01’s fusion proteins activate TAM receptors on microglia and astrocytes to promote efficient amyloid beta clearance while suppressing inflammation. The funding will support ILM01’s development toward an investigational new drug application by 2027 and expand the company’s pipeline into other immune-related diseases.

🌍HIV prep: Merck is advancing its HIV prevention efforts with two new phase 3 trials of MK-8527, a once-monthly oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug, aiming to offer an alternative to Gilead’s recently approved, twice-yearly injectable, Yeztugo (lenacapavir). In collaboration with the Gates Foundation, Merck will conduct the two trials across multiple countries, enrolling around 4,400 participants each. MK-8527, which targets HIV’s reverse transcriptase enzyme, showed a favorable safety profile in phase 2. As only 18% of global PrEP need is currently met, Merck is positioning MK-8527 to meet demand among those preferring oral options.

🦸‍♂️ M&A rescue: Essa Pharma, facing pressure from activist investors to shut down after disappointing prostate cancer trial results, has agreed to be acquired by nonprofit research group XenoTherapeutics in a deal backed by biotech royalty aggregator Xoma Royalty.

SPEED READ

Blink and you’ll miss it

  • LEO Pharma will globally commercialize and further develop Spevigo, the only approved IL-36-targeting treatment for generalized pustular psoriasis, under a licensing deal with Boehringer Ingelheim.

  • BD will spin off its biosciences and diagnostics units into a $17.5 billion merger with Waters Corporation, creating a lab tools giant projected to generate $6.5 billion in 2025 revenue

  • Crinetics Pharmaceuticals released new supportive data from extension studies showing its oral acromegaly drug Palsonify is well tolerated ahead of an upcoming FDA approval decision

  • Pierre Fabre’s BRAFTOVI plus cetuximab gained approval in China for BRAFV600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer, following trials showing up to 45% reduced mortality and progression

  • CARsgen Therapeutics secured a definitive European patent for its GPC3-targeted CAR-T therapy after a US rival withdrew its appeal, solidifying protection across multiple solid tumors

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