A cancer tumor is a veritable patchwork of cells with a variety of genetic fingerprints. Immunitas Therapeutics is using single-cell genomics—an approach that studies the genetic activity of individual cells—to peer deeply into patient tumors and more precisely determine what is fueling the growth. With that knowledge, the company plans to develop new targets for […]

William Chou has been appointed CEO of Aruvant Sciences. Chou was most recently a vice president and global disease lead for the Novartis (NYSE: NVS) cell and gene therapy unit. Before Novartis, he worked at Boston Consulting Group. Aruvant, which splits its operations between New York and Basel, Switzerland, is developing therapies for severe blood […]

A drug candidate once shelved by Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE: TAK) has found new life within Roivant Sciences spinout Myovant as a potential once-daily oral hormone therapy for patients with advanced prostate cancer. The Brisbane, CA-based biotech company (MYSE: MYOV) reported Tuesday that the drug, relugolix, met the primary goal of a Phase 3 trial, lowering […]

Pedro Heurtas has joined Inozyme Pharma as chief medical officer, the same position he held most recently at Sentien Pharmaceuticals. His experience also includes positions at Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, Shire, and Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FOLD). In other moves, Boston-based Inozyme appointed Gus Khursigara its vice president of medical affairs and clinical operations, and Catherine Nestor […]

A resTORbio respiratory drug has failed a late-stage test, and the company is stopping further development of the compound for lung infections in elderly patients. In the first of two Phase 3 studies, ResTORbio on Friday released preliminary data showing that its drug, RTB101, did not beat a placebo. Though the Boston-based company won’t proceed […]

The list of activities our smartphones can control grows daily. Transfer money? It’s simple. Order groceries? That, too. Turn off the bedroom lights? Check. How about contraception? Advancing new forms of birth control is a central focus at Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ: DARE), a San Diego-based biopharma company that’s built a pipeline of experimental devices and […]

Another of the biopharma startups created as part of a collaboration between San Diego investment firm Avalon Ventures and GlaxoSmithKline has been acquired—but not by GSK. Instead, the company, Calporta Therapeutics, is being absorbed by Merck (NYSE: MRK), which is interested in its preclinical work on potential treatments for lysosomal storage and neurodegenerative diseases, including […]

Prakash Raman has joined venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering in the newly created role of chief business development officer. Raman comes to Cambridge, MA-based Flagship from the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), where he was vice president and global head of business development and licensing. Flagship’s portfolio companies include epigenetics medicines developer Omega Therapeutics […]

Todd Pope, president and CEO of TransEnterix (NYSE American: TRXC) since 2008, has stepped down. The Research Triangle Park, NC-based surgical robotics company promoted Anthony Fernando to take Pope’s place. Fernando had been TransEnterix’s chief operating officer and chief technology officer. Pope will continue to advise the company to help with the transition of his […]

Danish diabetes giant Novo Nordisk took another step this week in its efforts to establish a presence in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, a metabolic disorder closely related to diabetes that is anticipated to become the leading cause of liver transplants in the US in coming years. The company Thursday announced it had inked a deal […]

Ashley Winslow is joining Atlanta, GA-based Odylia Therapeutics, a nonprofit organization that aims to accelerate the development of gene therapies for people with inherited retinal disease, as its chief scientific officer. Most recently she was the senior director of portfolio development and translational research at the Orphan Disease Center at the University of Pennsylvania; she […]

Women in medicine earn about 20 percent less than men. That is a problem for multiple reasons. It is, of course, not fair to the women who go through the same training and have the same skills as their male counterparts. Worse still, if well-qualified women are discouraged from entering the profession because of this […]