Health

Lisata, Eisai x Biogen and the Met Gala (!)

Published

2 months ago

May 10, 2024

Lisata, Eisai x Biogen and the Met Gala (!)

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Good morning. Congratulations on almost making it to the end of the week! That’s why I have a little treat for you at the bottom of the newsletter.

But first the biotech news of the day.

A stumbling block for Tregs in type 1 diabetes

Researchers and biotech companies have been trying to treat autoimmune diseases for several years by enlisting a subset of immune T cells called T regulatory cells (or Tregs) to try to suppress misguided immune responses responsible for disease.

In a phase 2 study funded by Lisata Therapeutics, researchers wanted to see if using Tregs could help preserve beta cells, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes patients. Findings published yesterday showed that the Tregs did not work.

Although it was a negative result, which meant a stumbling block a field that has great interest from investorsthe study showed that the therapy was safe and also suggests that simply increasing the number of Tregs may not translate into greater efficacy.

Read more from STAT’s Liz Cooney about what researchers can take away from these new study results.

Google’s new AI maps a universe of biomolecules

Google yesterday unveiled a new AI called AlphaFold 3 that can predict not only the structure of proteins but also all the other molecules they interact with, including RNA, DNA, ions and other small molecules.

AlphaFold 3 represents a major advance, allowing scientists to explore complex interactions between proteins and other molecules that could reveal new disease targets and different ways to attack them. But will this technology necessarily yield new medicines?

One researcher is skeptical. “Whether any of these developments will be transformative – I guess we’ll have to see,” said Paul D. Adams, associate laboratory director for life sciences at Berkeley Lab.

Proteins are not static objects, but instead function by moving and assuming multiple states, and none of the current technologies address that, Adams said.

Read more from STAT’s Casey Ross about the promises and limitations of this new technology.

Another major funding round in immunology

From STAT’s Jonathan Wosen: Earlier this week we saw Zenas BioPharma, focused on immunology announces a $200 million Series C. There is now another major funding round in the field of immunology and inflammation, a field that has seen a lot of investor interest this year. (See here, here and here.)

Attovia Therapeutics, a Bay Area biotech company developing precision protein therapies, said today it has raised $105 million in a Series B round led by Goldman Sachs. The company is developing so-called attobodies: small fragments derived from antibodies and attached to each other. CEO Tao Fu told STAT that these molecules have the potential to be much more potent and long-lasting than traditional antibody therapies.

Attovia plans to use the funding to transition its two lead drug candidates, ATTO-1310 and ATTO-002, into clinical trials, with an initial focus on atopic dermatitis (eczema). Fu says the company also plans to target other diseases characterized by itching, noting that both experimental drugs target IL31, a key immune signaling molecule that causes itching (ATTO-002 also targets another signal , IL13).

The 25-person company, spun out of proteomics company Alamar, launched last year and announced a $60 million Series A round. Attovia plans to enter the clinic by the end of the year.

The launch of Leqembi is delayed by problems with early diagnosis

The introduction of Eisai and Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi faces a host of hurdles: the cost of the treatments, the complicated logistics required to set up infusion centers, and also getting patients and primary care physicians to recognize memory loss as a disease early enough .

“Even the word for dementia doesn’t always exist in every culture and in every language,” Hollis Day, chief of geriatrics at Boston Medical Center, said yesterday during a virtual STAT event. “And so getting people diagnosed early enough to benefit from these treatments is already a big barrier.”

Day added that it is difficult to explain to patients that Leqembi is not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but instead a way to slow its decline.

Read more from STAT’s Matt Herper about the barriers doctors face when adopting Leqembi.

Big Pharma is everywhere

Of course, one purpose of pharmaceutical company logos is to convince patients to buy their medicines. We are convinced that they are also there to inspire the latest fashion trends.

Earlier this week at the Met Gala, the biggest fashion event of the year, we spotted several celebrities whose outfits seemed clearly influenced by the industry’s distinctive branding. Together with my colleagues Allison DeAngelis and Brittany Trang, I picked out some of the best outfits. Look:

Diane von Furstenberg