SNAPSHOT

Eli Lilly unearths its next inflammation move in $1.2B Ventyx acquisition

Eli Lilly is acquiring Ventyx Biosciences for $1.2B to gain access to a promising oral drug targeting chronic inflammation, aiming to expand its portfolio in cardiometabolic, neurological, and autoimmune diseases.

Why it matters: The move strengthens Lilly’s competitive edge in the fast-growing inflammation and obesity markets, where rivals like Novo Nordisk are also advancing similar therapies.

Backstory: Ventyx’s lead drug, VTX3232, targets NLRP3 inflammasomes, proteins that trigger inflammation and has shown potential in treating diseases like cardiovascular disorders, liver disease, and Parkinson’s. Lilly’s $14-per-share offer marks a 62% premium over Ventyx’s recent average trading price.

Big picture: This acquisition reinforces a broader industry shift toward targeting chronic inflammation, with pharma giants and biotechs racing to develop next-gen immune treatments. NLRP3 inhibitors, in particular, are gaining momentum as potential game-changers. Analysts say the deal validates NLRP3 as a target, despite uncertainties about its full clinical potential.

Zoom in: In October, Ventyx reported that VTX3232 reduced a key heart disease marker by 64% over 12 weeks when used with semaglutide (the active ingredient in Novo's Wegovy). It also showed positive effects on liver inflammation and fat levels. The drug is being studied for other conditions like Parkinson’s and pericarditis.

What's next: Lilly will integrate Ventyx’s programs into its development pipeline, which already includes 21 obesity/metabolism drugs. The company will further test VTX3232 across various inflammatory conditions and may explore more NLRP3-related opportunities.

Yes, but: Lilly will absolutely need to quicken its pace as the competition heats up; Roche, BioAge Labs, Neumora, and others are also in the NLRP3 race.

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🥵 Lilly again: Eli Lilly has also partnered with biotech company InduPro in a deal worth up to $950M to collaborate on the discovery of new cancer treatments targeting up to three undisclosed tumor types. InduPro will lead early discovery efforts using its AI/ML-enabled membrane interactomics (MInt) platform, which analyzes tumor antigen proximity to develop bi- and tri-specific therapeutics with improved safety, potency, and tumor selectivity. Lilly has also made an undisclosed equity investment in InduPro. This marks InduPro’s second major pharma partnership following a similar preclinical collaboration with Sanofi, as the biotech advances its pipeline in both oncology and autoimmune diseases.

 🧪 Beta-Catenin blitz: Parabilis Medicines, formerly FogPharma, has raised $305M in a Series F financing round, the largest biotech funding disclosed in early 2026, to advance its efforts in targeting previously “undruggable” disease pathways. The funding will support development of the company’s lead candidate, zolucatetide, which targets the beta-catenin pathway implicated in many cancers and is currently in a Phase 1/2 trial. Parabilis’ Helicon platform, based on proprietary cell-penetrating peptides developed at Harvard, enables targeting intracellular proteins.

🩸 Vessel fixer: Diagonal Therapeutics has secured $125M in a Series B financing round to advance its lead candidate, DIAG723, into clinical trials in 2026. The company specializes in “clustering” antibodies that reshape cell receptors to reactivate disrupted signaling pathways. DIAG723 targets both hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, a rare genetic disorder causing abnormal blood vessels, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, by reactivating the ALK1 signaling complex. The approach could offer a disease-modifying therapy, potentially complementing existing treatments like Merck’s Winrevair. The round brings Diagonal’s total funding to over $250M since its 2024 launch from stealth.

🍽️ Obesity reloaded: And the early year fundraising spree continues! Alveus Therapeutics has launched with $159.8M in Series A funding to develop next-generation obesity treatments aimed at overcoming limitations of current therapies, such as frequent dosing, tolerability issues, and difficulty maintaining long-term weight loss. Alveus is advancing its lead candidate, ALV-100, a bifunctional GIP receptor antagonist and GLP-1 receptor agonist fusion protein, alongside a pipeline featuring amylin-based therapies like ALV-200.

⚡ MEK momentum: Immuneering has reported encouraging 12-month data from a Phase 2a trial of its MEK inhibitor atebimetinib in first-line pancreatic cancer, showing a 64% overall survival (OS) rate compared to 35% in historical chemotherapy data. The trial also showed median progression-free survival (PFS) of 8.5 months, exceeding the 5.5-month benchmark. While median OS has not yet been reached, Immuneering highlighted the three-month PFS advantage as reinforcing the strength of its results. With no new safety concerns reported, the company plans to begin a pivotal Phase 3 trial in mid-2026 involving 510 patients. Immuneering faces competition from Revolution Medicines, which is also targeting the first-line setting with daraxonrasib.

SNAP AGAIN

Epibiologics raises $107M to go fishing for hard-to-drug cancer targets

EpiBiologics has raised $107M to move its lead drug candidate, EPI-326, into clinical trials, aiming to selectively degrade cancerous proteins while sparing healthy cells.

Why it matters: The startup's technology could offer a safer, more targeted approach to hard-to-treat cancers, potentially overcoming resistance seen with current therapies.

Backstory: Founded in 2021 and backed by UCSF science, EpiBiologics focuses on “EpiTACs”, drugs that tag harmful cell-surface proteins for destruction via the lysosome. Its Series A round raised $50M in 2023. The company is also developing hybrid therapies combining degraders with antibody-drug conjugates.

Big picture: Targeted protein degradation is an expanding frontier in oncology, attracting major investor and pharma interest due to its potential to attack disease-causing proteins that are otherwise difficult to drug.

Zoom in: EPI-326 is a bispecific antibody targeting mutated EGFR, a key driver in cancers like non-small cell lung and head and neck cancers. Its precise targeting aims to improve safety and effectiveness, especially in combination with existing treatments like tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

What's next: Clinical trials for EPI-326 are set to begin in the first half of 2026 in patients who’ve relapsed or are resistant to current therapies. The company will also unveil a second drug program later this year. 

SPEED READ

More news

• Engitix, has been backed again by billionaire Mike Platt with a $25M series A extension to advance its extracellular matrix-targeted therapies for fibrosis and solid tumors.

• GSK is investing $50M in a five-year deal to license Noetik’s AI cancer foundation models, aiming to enhance drug discovery in lung and colorectal cancer.

• Foresee Pharmaceuticals sold global rights to its MMP-12 inhibitor programs to Primevera for up to $584M, shifting focus to its prostate cancer drug Camcevi and SIF pipeline.

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