Daily Snap - 17. September 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
September 17, 2025

 

Good morning! Germany-based KyDo Therapeutics has raised €4.45 million in seed funding to develop a new type of cancer treatment based on covalent-allosteric inhibitors. Covalent-allosteric inhibitors are specially designed molecules that attach to disease-related proteins in two ways: they form a permanent bond (covalent) and bind at a site that controls the protein’s function (allosteric), rather than where typical drugs bind. This dual approach can improve precision, reduce side effects, and help overcome drug resistance in cancer therapy. The funding will now support the development of KyDo’s frontrunner compounds toward IND-enabling studies.

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🌬️Asthma win: Areteia Therapeutics has announced positive results from its phase 3 Exhale-4 trial, showing that its oral small molecule drug, dexpramipexole, significantly improved lung function in patients with moderate-to-severe eosinophilic asthma compared to placebo. The trial, which involved 600 participants, met its primary endpoint, with improvements observed from Week 4 and sustained through Weeks 20 to 24. Both high and low doses also significantly reduced eosinophil counts, a key driver of asthma symptoms. Backed by a $425 million investment led by Bain Capital, Areteia aims to position dexpramipexole as an oral alternative to injectable biologic therapies like Fasenra, Nucala, and Dupixent.

💉Slimming shot: Novo Nordisk’s investigational obesity drug cagrilintide, an injectable amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist, achieved 11.8% average weight loss over 68 weeks in nondiabetic overweight or obese patients, falling short of the 14.9% seen with its approved GLP-1 drug Wegovy in a comparable trial. Despite the lower efficacy, cagrilintide showed a favorable tolerability profile, with only 1% discontinuing due to nausea, compared to higher rates seen with Wegovy. Novo plans to move forward with a dedicated phase 3 program, positioning cagrilintide as a potential alternative for patients seeking weight loss treatments with fewer gastrointestinal side effects.

🏭Lilly megaplant:  Eli Lilly has announced it will build a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia, marking the first of four planned U.S. “mega sites” under its $27 billion investment initiative to expand domestic drug production. The Virginia plant will focus on producing active pharmaceutical ingredients, particularly for bioconjugates and monoclonal antibodies, and is expected to employ 650 people, with 1,800 involved in construction. The move reflects a broader industry shift toward U.S.-based manufacturing in response to supply chain concerns and tariff risks. All four facilities are expected to be operational within five years.

💰ROCKin' launch: AllRock Bio, a new biotech startup founded by former CinCor Pharma executives, has launched with $50 million in Series A funding to develop ROC-101, a pan-ROCK inhibitor licensed from Sanofi for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and PAH with interstitial lung disease. The drug, originally part of Kadmon’s pipeline prior to its acquisition by Sanofi, targets both inflammatory and fibrotic pathways in the pulmonary arteries and is set to enter Phase 2a trials by year-end. AllRock is the most advanced spinout from JucaBio, a “hub-and-spoke” biotech aiming to commercialize overlooked pharmaceutical assets.

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