Daily Snap - 3. September 2025

Author

Joachim Eeckhout
September 03, 2025

 

Good morning! If you have to bet on a startup’s future, look no further than the newly launched Corsera Health, founded by biotech veterans John Maraganore and Clive Meanwell, whose previous collaboration led to the RNAi drug Leqvio, later acquired in a $10 billion deal by Novartis. Building on their history of innovation, the two biotech stars are now co-CEOs of Corsera, which aims to bring preventive cardiovascular care to the masses through a once-yearly RNA interference therapy targeting PCSK9 and angiotensinogen. Backed by over $50 million in insider funding, the company is also developing an AI tool, Klotho Health, to identify individuals at risk earlier in life. Now, that’s a busy pair!

Enjoy today’s read!

—Joachim E.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🧬AML advance: UK-based biotech Charm Therapeutics has raised $80 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round co-led by NEA and SR One, with participation from NVIDIA and others, to advance its AI-designed menin inhibitor into Phase I trials for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in early 2026. The drug aims to overcome resistance mutations and safety issues associated with first-generation menin inhibitors like Syndax’s FDA-approved Revuforj. Charm’s molecule is engineered to remain effective at low doses, minimizing cardiac risks and drug interactions. If successful, it would enter a competitive AML market projected to grow, with multiple candidates currently in late-stage development.

🧙War-lock: Vertex Pharmaceuticals has entered a partnership with Enlaza Therapeutics worth over $2 billion to leverage Enlaza’s War-Lock covalent biologics platform in developing improved conditioning agents for gene therapies, including its CRISPR-based treatment Casgevy for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. The deal includes a $45 million upfront payment and equity investment, with Enlaza eligible for R&D, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus royalties. Enlaza’s technology enables irreversible protein binding, potentially reducing treatment burdens like chemotherapy-based conditioning. The collaboration also targets autoimmune diseases through small drug conjugates and T-cell engagers, with Enlaza handling early research and Vertex taking over later-stage development and commercialization.

 🧬PKC powerplay: Servier has entered into a partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences worth up to $530 million to co-develop darovasertib, an oral protein kinase C inhibitor targeting metastatic uveal melanoma. The deal includes a $210 million upfront payment, up to $100 million in regulatory milestones, $220 million in commercial milestones, and double-digit royalties for IDEAYA outside the U.S., where Servier holds exclusive rights. Darovasertib, which has received multiple FDA designations, is in ongoing Phase II/III trials, with key readouts expected by early 2026. The collaboration extends IDEAYA’s cash runway to 2030 and supports a planned Phase III global trial in 2026.

🤝China collab: Boston-based Radiance Biopharma has entered a licensing agreement with China’s Novatim Immune Therapeutics, offering $15 million upfront and over $1 billion in potential milestone payments and royalties for exclusive overseas rights to KY-0301, a bispecific nano antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). The asset, recoded as RB-601 by Radiance, is being developed for multiple cancers, including non-small cell lung and colorectal cancers. KY-0301 is designed to improve tumor penetration, antitumor activity, and safety compared to traditional ADCs. Radiance will lead global clinical trials, while Novatim could receive up to $150 million in R&D milestones and $1 billion in commercial milestones.

💃TL1A tango: Roche, through its Genentech subsidiary, has entered a partnership with UK-based OMass Therapeutics to advance a preclinical small-molecule program for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), investing $20 million upfront with potential milestone payments exceeding $400 million. OMass will lead preclinical development using its OdyssION platform, with Genentech taking over clinical development and commercialization upon candidate selection. This deal strengthens Roche’s IBD portfolio, currently led by afimkibart (formerly RVT-3101), an anti-TL1A antibody acquired via its $7.1 billion purchase of Telavant in 2023 and now in Phase III trials. The move reflects growing industry investment in TL1A-targeted IBD therapies, alongside Merck and Sanofi.

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