Daily Snap - 15. October 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
October 15, 2025

Good morning! If you feel like China has been dominating biotech headlines lately, it’s not just your impression. Over the past five years, China’s biotech sector has seen a remarkable surge in out-licensing deals, according to a new report from GlobalData. Between 2020 and 2024, the compound annual growth rate for licensing agreements was around 21.7%, a clear sign of the growing strength of innovation coming from Chinese labs. What’s striking is that oncology alone accounted for nearly 60% of all deals, while ADCs pulled in a massive $40 billion in value across just 31 agreements. Even more telling, six of the ten largest deals since 2020 happened this year, showing how quickly China’s momentum is accelerating. At this rate, Western pharma might soon start out-licensing their drugs to China.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

💰Series-B bump: Cardiovascular biotech Kardigan has raised $254 million in a Series B round, bringing its total funding to over $500 million to advance a portfolio of late-stage clinical assets. Launched in January 2025 by former MyoKardia executives, the company is developing three licensed therapies: danicamtiv for dilated cardiomyopathy, tonlamarsen for acute severe hypertension, and ataciguat for calcific aortic valve stenosis. With backing from new and existing investors, Kardigan aims to deliver transformative cardiovascular treatments by targeting disease root causes. The company also integrates advanced heart health analytics through Prolaio, acquired earlier this year, to drive its data-informed strategy.

 ⚛️JAM-packed: Takeda has expanded its partnership with AI-driven drug designer Nabla Bio in a deal worth over $1 billion in potential milestone payments, following its strategic exit from cell therapy to focus on small molecules, biologics, and antibody-drug conjugates. Building on a collaboration that began in 2022, the new multiyear agreement will apply Nabla’s Joint Atomic Model (JAM) platform to design novel antibodies and multispecific therapeutics across Takeda’s early-stage pipeline. The deal aligns with Takeda’s narrowed R&D focus on gastrointestinal and inflammatory diseases, neuroscience, oncology, and rare genetic and hematologic disorders. Nabla, a 2021 Harvard spinout, previously partnered with AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb.

🏆Trial success: Pfizer has announced positive phase 3 results for Tukysa in the HER2CLIMB-05 trial, showing that the HER2-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor significantly extended progression-free survival as a first-line maintenance therapy for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who had responded to induction therapy. Given with Herceptin and Perjeta, Tukysa outperformed placebo, marking a potential shift in the standard of care, which has remained unchanged since 2012. Previously approved for second-line use, Tukysa may now benefit a broader patient population, especially those with HR-negative disease. Pfizer plans regulatory discussions and will present full results at a future medical meeting.

🤖 Robo-labs: Lila Sciences, a Flagship Pioneering company aiming to automate scientific research through AI and robotic labs, has expanded its Series A round with an additional $115 million, bringing the total to $350 million and its overall fundraising to over $500 million since launching in March 2025. The extension includes backing from Nvidia’s NVentures, Analog Devices, IQT, and other investors. Lila plans to use the funds to scale its AI-powered “science factories” in Boston, London, and San Francisco, pursue customer acquisition, and grow its talent base. While the company reports major advances in biotech R&D, it has not yet disclosed supporting data.

 🧠Brain barrier bid: Denali Therapeutics' enzyme replacement therapy for Hunter syndrome, tividenofusp (tivi), has experienced a three-month FDA review delay, pushing the decision date from January 5 to April 5, 2026. The delay stems from Denali’s submission of updated clinical pharmacology information, including a correction to the drug’s molecular weight, which the FDA classified as a major amendment despite not affecting efficacy or safety data. Analysts view the setback as a procedural technicality. Tivi aims to cross the blood-brain barrier to address neurological symptoms of Hunter syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, and could compete with Takeda’s approved therapy, Elaprase.

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