In in the space of two days in December, Gilead Sciences of Foster City, California announced agreements with two Massachusetts-based biotechs, the first with Scholar Rock of Cambridge and the second with Agenus of Lexington. Gilead will work with Scholar Rock to discover and develop highly specific inhibitors of transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) activation […]

Biogen has announced separate strategic collaborations with C4 Therapeutics (C4T) of Watertown and Skyhawk Therapeutics of Waltham to discover and develop potential new treatments for neurological conditions. C4T is pioneering a new class of small-molecule drugs that selectively target disease-relevant proteins for degradation using the innate machinery of the cell. This targeted protein degradation approach […]

Atlas Venture, a leading venture capital firm investing in breakthrough biotech innovation, has announced the closing of its first Opportunity Fund, raising $250 million in an oversubscribed fundraise. With Atlas Venture Opportunity Fund I (AVOF I), the firm will invest in existing Atlas portfolio companies as they progress. “We are delighted and humbled by the […]

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene have announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire Celgene in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $74 billion. The Boards of Directors of both companies have approved the combination. The transaction is subject to approval by Bristol-Myers […]

Entrada Therapeutics has raised $59 million in a Series A financing co-led by 5AM Ventures and MPM Capital, along with Roche Venture Fund, MRL Ventures Fund and Agent Capital. Entrada was funded and incubated within 5AM’s 4:59 Initiative via a seed investment by 5AM Ventures, Roche Venture Fund and MRLV. Entrada’s proprietary intracellular biologics platform has […]

PARP, or poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, is a family of proteins that helps repair damaged DNA in cells. A PARP inhibitor may prevent cancer cells from repairing their damaged DNA, which can cause cancer cells to die. This may slow the return or progress of cancer. BRCA is a gene that is linked to increased risk for […]

TESARO, an oncology-focused company based in Waltham, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement by which GSK will acquire TESARO for an aggregate cash consideration of approximately $5.1 billion. The proposed transaction significantly strengthens GSK’s pharmaceutical business, accelerating the build of GSK’s pipeline and commercial capability in oncology. TESARO […]

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has announced that treatment with the triple combination of the next-generation corrector VX-659, tezacaftor and ivacaftor resulted in statistically significant improvements in lung function in two Phase 3 studies in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Vertex also today announced that enrollment is complete for the two Phase 3 studies of the triple combination […]

Cambridge-based Tango Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer therapies, has announced a global strategic collaboration with Gilead Sciences to discover, develop and commercialize a pipeline of innovative targeted immuno-oncology treatments for patients with cancer. Under the multi-year collaboration, Tango will perform target discovery and validation and Gilead will have […]

Cambridge-based GO Therapeutics, a company applying new advances in glycoproteomics to develop antibody-based cancer therapeutics, announced in early October that it has entered into a license agreement with Roche. The agreement grants Roche a worldwide, exclusive license for antibodies generated to address a novel cancer-specific target. Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay […]