Brensocatib

Expedition Therapeutics has secured an oversubscribed $115 million series B financing from a line-up of big-name investors to propel its lead DPP1 inhibitor through phase 2. The round was led by General Atlantic, with fellow new investors RA Capital and Vivo Capital joining previous backers like Sanofi's venture arm, Novo Holdings, Sofinnova Investments, Forbion and Dawn Biopharma among others. The latest raise follows a $165 million series A in October 2025. Expedition launched in 2024 and by the following year had licensed ex-China rights to the DPP1 inhibitor, dubbed EXPD-101, from Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma for $17 million upfront. Fosun is currently running a phase 2 study of EXPD-101 in bronchiectasis in China. Meanwhile, San Francisco-based Expedition has just dosed the first patient in a mid-stage study of EXPD-101 in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which the company described as the first global, randomized phase 2 trial of a DPP1 inhibitor in the respiratory condition. The infusion of series B cash will not only finance the study, but also provides “dry powder to continue to pursue other assets to bring into our portfolio and continue to fund our own proprietary discovery efforts as well,” Expedition founder and CEO Yi Larson told Fierce. Dipeptidyl peptidase 1 (DPP1) is an enzyme that works by turning on neutrophils, a type of immune cell, in the bone marrow. Once these neutrophils are matured, they migrate out of the bone and play a protective role in the immune system and fight against infection, Larson explained. “DPP1 is a selective target that targets neutrophilic inflammation—the underlying driver of COPD, along with some other respiratory diseases as well,” Larson added. “COPD is our initial focus, as it is the third leading cause of death globally.” An imbalance of neutrophils or the factors they release, such as serine proteases, can cause airway damage in the lung, typically seen in COPD patients. EXPD-101’s mechanism works to “intervene upstream and reduce that imbalance of those serine proteases and help protect some of the airway function and lower the exacerbations that COPD patients have,” said Larson. Insmed secured the first-ever FDA approval for a DPP1 inhibitor last year in the form of Brinsupri. That regulatory win was for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. While Insmed doesn't appear to be exploring Brinsupri in COPD, the company does have another DPP1 inhibitor in preclinical development for undisclosed indications, according to its website .

iStock, Nauval Wildani Insmed’s inhalable candidate showed “impressive” long-term efficacy in pulmonary arterial hypertension, according to analysts at Guggenheim Partners, with functional and biomarker improvements through one year of follow-up. Insmed’s investigational therapy sustained functional and biomarker improvements through 12 months in an open-label extension study of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. These benefits “strengthen the case” for Insmed’s drug candidate, called treprostinil palmitil inhalation powder (TPIP), “as the best-in-class inhaled prostanoid,” analysts at Guggenheim Partners told investors in a Thursday note. The firm projects peak TPIP sales to top $6 billion across several planned indications, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The extension study includes more than 90 patients with PAH who were already on daily TPIP from lead-in studies, as well as those who were transitioning to the inhaled therapy from placebo. The study was designed to follow participants through 24 months. ezstandalone.cmd.push(function () { ezstandalone.showAds(129); }); Twelve-month data presented on Thursday demonstrated functional improvements as measured by the 6-minute walk distance (6MWD). Those who maintained ongoing TPIP treatment saw a 55.7-meter increase in 6MWD, while distance grew by 54.1 meters in those who crossed over from placebo. NT-proBNP, a biomarker indicative of heart strain, dropped by roughly 60% in both groups, Insmed said. Earnings Insmed Jumps on ‘Blowout’ Sales Beat for Bronchiectasis Drug Brinsupri Insmed’s freshly approved lung condition drug soared past sales expectations for 2025, netting $144.6 million in its first full quarter of sales. January 9, 2026 · 1 min read · Dan Samorodnitsky Read more Guggenheim called these findings “impressive,” adding that “we come away from this data release with incrementally higher confidence in the clinical pro this product.” The firm nevertheless flagged some outstanding concerns, including the extension trial’s small sample size and the fact that “we are still multiple years away from any Phase 3 readout for TPIP.” Another concern is what Truist Securities flagged as an “efficacy ceiling” associated with TPIP. “A key potential differentiator of TPIP is its ability to be titrated beyond the dosing limits of currently available inhaled prostacyclins,” the analysts said in a Thursday note. However, only around 21% of patients in the current study went above 640 µg, with just seven participants reaching the maximum allowable dose of 1,280 µg, according to Truist. “It is unclear to us why physicians would not continue escalating in well-tolerating patients if meaningful incremental benefit existed,” the firm continued. “As such, the data leave open the question of whether TPIP reaches an efficacy ceiling around current dose levels” or if going beyond 640 µg still yields meaningful clinical benefit, Truist wrote. Insmed has recently started the Phase 3 PALM-PAH study to assess once-daily TPIP in PAH patients over 24 weeks, the biotech said on Thursday, though it did not provide a specific timeline for a topline readout. The TPIP data comes after Insmed in April axed the hidradenitis suppurative program for its recently approved DPP1 inhibitor Brinsupri following disappointing mid-stage data. Brinsupri was approved in August 2025 for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. In the first quarter, the drug made $207.9 million —an “impressive” figure that indicates the launch is “going very well,” Guggenheim wrote in a May 7 note.