Daily Snap - 17. October 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
October 17, 2025

 

Good morning! Veradermics just secured a $150 million Series C to advance a new treatment for androgenetic alopecia, the most common form of pattern hair loss. Its lead candidate, VDPHL01, is an extended-release oral formulation of minoxidil designed to maintain longer drug exposure in hair follicles while minimizing the cardiovascular side effects seen with standard oral minoxidil. In an early phase 2 study, 95% of male participants reported increased satisfaction with their hair coverage after four months, and phase 3 trials are now underway. With Pelage raising $120M this week for its regenerative gel, biotech’s hair-raising funding streak shows no signs of thinning.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

👯‍♂️Bispecific bonanza: Dianthus Therapeutics has entered a licensing agreement with China-based Leads Biolabs for rights outside Greater China to DNTH212, a bispecific antibody targeting autoimmune diseases, with a total deal value of up to $1 billion. The agreement includes $30 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments, plus an $8 million payment tied to the start of a Dianthus-led phase 1 trial. Leads could earn up to $962 million in additional development, regulatory, and sales milestones, along with tiered royalties. DNTH212 blocks two validated autoimmune pathways and is being positioned as a subcutaneous, infrequently dosed treatment for multiple autoimmune conditions.

 💰 Three in a row: Sanofi has entered into a partnership with Evoq Therapeutics worth up to $500 million, marking Evoq's third major biopharma collaboration following previous deals with Amgen and Gilead. The agreement includes potential milestone payments and tiered royalties, with Sanofi gaining rights to Evoq’s NanoDisc platform, an autoimmune therapy that uses synthetic high-density lipoprotein particles to restore immune tolerance by delivering patient-specific antigens. While specific target diseases were not disclosed, NanoDisc has applications for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Type 1 diabetes. Sanofi will lead development and commercialization, leveraging its expertise in immunology to advance this next-generation technology.

🛡️Kidney shield: Novartis has confirmed that its drug Fabhalta significantly slows kidney function decline in patients with IgA nephropathy, based on final results from the Phase 3 Applause-IgAN trial. This strengthens the case for full FDA approval following its earlier accelerated approval in 2024. Fabhalta, which has also been approved for other rare kidney diseases, generated $120 million in Q2 and is one of Novartis’s top-priority brands. As competition intensifies in the IgAN space, with companies like Biogen, Vertex, Vera, and Otsuka advancing rival therapies, Novartis plans to expand Fabhalta’s use to additional indications in the coming years.

 📈 Myeloma boost: Johnson & Johnson reported that its dual-targeting antibody Tecvayli, combined with Darzalex, significantly outperformed a standard treatment regimen in a Phase 3 trial for multiple myeloma patients previously treated with one to three lines of therapy. The trial, MajesTEC-3, was stopped early after demonstrating statistically significant benefits in delaying disease progression and improving survival. Tecvayli, which targets the BCMA protein on cancer cells, currently holds accelerated approval for later-line use, but these new results could support its move into earlier treatment settings. J&J plans to present full data soon and pursue regulatory submissions to expand Tecvayli’s approved use.

🎯Aiming with AI: AstraZeneca has entered a new collaboration with long-time AI partner Immunai, agreeing to a deal worth up to $85 million to develop a novel inflammatory bowel disease therapy targeting an immune-related molecule identified by Immunai’s AI-powered Immunodynamics Engine and AMICA cell atlas. The deal grants AstraZeneca exclusive rights to develop and commercialize therapies based on this undisclosed target, with the payment structure including an upfront fee and potential milestone payments. This partnership builds on a three-year relationship between the companies, expanding their work from oncology into autoimmune diseases, and highlights AI’s growing role in complex immune disease research.

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