Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical won FDA approval Tuesday for a therapy that treats a group of rare metabolic disorders that render the body unable to convert a certain type of fat—such as those found in olive oil, fish, and nuts—into energy. People who have long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders (LC-FAOD) typically manage the condition with dietary changes […]

A growing population of people with software experience plus an interest in life sciences is boosting drug development in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to panelists at an Xcelerating event. Innovation in the San Francisco Bay Area may first bring to mind tech behemoths like Facebook and Google. But some drug development companies in […]

DBV Technologies still expects to receive an FDA decision in early August for its peanut allergy patch. But on Friday the company, which is headquartered in the southern outskirts of Paris, said it would start layoffs and scale down its drug development activities to save cash in case the radio silence it says it has […]

CSL Behring is joining the chase for a genetic treatment for hemophilia by acquiring a uniQure gene therapy that’s already in late-stage testing. King of Prussia, PA-based CSL Behring is paying $450 million up front to acquire the uniQure (NASDAQ: QURE) asset, etranacogene dezaparvovec (“EtranaDez” for short), the companies announced late Wednesday. Netherlands-based uniQure will […]

Sophisticated computational tools have guided Relay Therapeutics in its efforts to develop new drugs based on analysis of the movement and shape of disease-causing proteins. Now the Cambridge, MA, biotech is looking to tap the public markets to bulk up company coffers and get its two lead drug candidates into mid-stage clinical trials as potential […]

Reneo Pharmaceuticals has encouraging results from an early trial of a compound it is advancing for rare diseases characterized by impaired mitochondria—our cells’ energy generators—and the company says it is now designing a large global study of its drug candidate. Headed by president and CEO Niall O’Donnell (pictured), the San Diego-based company launched last year […]

Cancer treatment is increasingly moving toward targeted therapies based on the genetics of a patient’s tumor and Invitae is ensuring it gets its share of this growing market with a deal to acquire precision oncology startup ArcherDx. San Francisco-based Invitae announced Monday that it has agreed to pay $886 million for ArcherDx—$325 million in cash […]

If the state of current events has shown us one thing, it’s that inclusion matters. Inclusivity is more important than ever. Whether you are black, white, gay, or straight, the time for conversations about inclusion is now. If you’re a small or medium-sized biotech company, you may think you don’t have a place in the […]

Checkpoint inhibitors do one thing: release the molecular brake that keeps immune cells from recognizing and targeting tumors. This cancer immunotherapy approach has saved countless lives and turned drugs from Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb into blockbuster products. But what if a single drug could block checkpoint proteins while simultaneously sparking an anti-tumor response? That’s […]

Alpine Immune Sciences’ lupus drug candidate now has AbbVie lined up to continue the compound’s development. The drug, ALPN-101, is ready for Phase 2 testing, which will be conducted by Seattle-based Alpine. The deal announced Thursday grants AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) an exclusive option to license the drug after that study. The North Chicago, IL-based pharmaceutical […]

The cancer cell therapies available today are made by tweaking a patient’s own immune cells to better recognize and fight the disease. Orca Bio is developing what it says is the next generation of cell therapy: custom preparations made without modifying cells or genes. Orca is already testing its technology in humans, though it has […]

C4 Therapeutics, a biotech developing small molecules designed to take advantage of a cellular mechanism as a way to treat disease, has raised $170 million in venture equity and debt to start human testing. The Watertown, MA-based firm is among a number of companies competing in the popular protein degradation space, in which drug developers […]