Ambrx, Inc.

SAN DIEGO--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Light Horse Therapeutics Inc., a developer of first-in-class small molecule therapeutics, today announced a $62 million Series A financing. The financing was led by founding investor Versant Ventures and included Mubadala Capital as well as three strategic investors: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Taiho Ventures, and AbbVie. Light Horse is the latest company started by Versant’s Inception Discovery Engine, and its scientific co-founders are Brian Liau, PhD, Ben Cravatt, PhD, and Nathanael Gray, PhD. Light Horse has developed a proprietary platform that uncovers novel functional sites in disease-critical targets. The company integrated distinct approaches to build this precision genetic editing-based platform that interrogates proteins in their native environment, providing a faster discovery of clinical candidates. The company’s technology turns conventional drug discovery on its head by first identifying novel functional domains and then screening for chemistry. This “function-first” approach is the converse of traditional “screening-first” methodologies. Led by Light Horse’s CSO, Laure Escoubet, PhD, the Light Horse team has translated this methodology into first-in-class preclinical programs against high-value oncology targets and has enabled a discovery collaboration with Novartis that is described in a separate press release issued today. Light Horse internal programs are now progressing through preclinical testing, paving the way towards the development of disruptive therapies. “We are very impressed with Light Horse’s chemical genomics capabilities to rapidly investigate protein complexes at scale and to uncover unprecedented functional sites in high-value targets,” said Rami Hannoush, PhD, venture partner at Versant and a Light Horse board member. “We believe the talented team at Light Horse and its technology will enable a pipeline of first-in-class drug candidates.” “We have a unique capability to interrogate proteins and pathways, identifying functionally critical sites that can drive the development of groundbreaking first-in-class therapies,” said Light Horse CEO Markus Renschler, MD. “Our initial focus addresses high-value, historically challenging oncology targets with the opportunity to apply the technology to other therapeutic areas in the future.” Leadership team and scientific founders Light Horse is led by experienced executives who possess expertise in oncology drug discovery and development. They are complemented by scientific founders who are world leaders in chemoproteomics and chemical biology. Thomas Daniel, MD, Chairman Dr. Daniel has more than 25 years of experience leading and building research and development organizations and leading investments in new companies at the forefront of innovative application of science to healthcare. He served as President of Global Research and Early Development at Celgene and previously held senior leadership roles at AmbRx, Amgen and Immunex. Markus Renschler, MD, CEO Dr. Renschler is a proven biotechnology executive with more than 25 years’ experience in building successful companies. Prior to Light Horse, he was President and CEO of Cyteir Therapeutics, Inc. leading it from a private discovery stage startup to a publicly traded clinical-stage company. Prior to Cyteir, he held leading roles in clinical R&D, business development and medical affairs at Celgene, Pharmion and Pharmacyclics, where he helped to develop and/or launched some of the most successful cancer drugs approved to date. Laure Escoubet, PhD, CSO Dr. Escoubet has almost 20 years of experience in building successful drug discovery teams and driving drug discovery programs into the clinic. Prior experiences include Vice President, Biology, at Zentalis, Head of Epigenetic Drug Discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene and other leading roles in early drug discovery in oncology. Brian Liau, PhD, scientific co-founder Dr. Liau is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. His research group develops chemical genomic approaches to interrogate the mechanisms of gene regulatory complexes and their promise as therapeutic targets. Ben Cravatt, PhD, scientific co-founder Dr. Cravatt is the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research. His research group develops and applies chemical proteomic technologies for protein and drug discovery on a global scale and has particular interest in studying biochemical pathways in the nervous system and cancer. Dr. Cravatt is a co-founder of multiple successful biotech companies. Nathanael Gray, PhD, scientific co-founder Dr. Gray is the Krishnan-Shah Family Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford, Co-Director of Cancer Drug Discovery Co-Leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Research Program, Member of Chem-H, and Program Leader for Small Molecule Drug Discovery for the Innovative Medicines Accelerator. His research uses the tools of synthetic chemistry, protein biochemistry, and cancer biology to discover and validate new strategies for the inhibition of cancer targets. “Light Horse has deep scientific talent, a very experienced management team, and a strong syndicate of strategic and institutional investors to enhance its delivery of exceptional drug candidates addressing unmet medical need” said Dr. Daniel. About Light Horse Therapeutics Light Horse is leading the way in precision genome editing applied to small molecule drug discovery, pioneering approaches to target the root causes of disabling and life-threatening diseases. Its advanced platform identifies cryptic chemically accessible functional domains within targets that play critical roles in disease biology. The high-throughput discovery platform systematically interrogates complex signaling pathways to uncover unique sites of vulnerability. Light Horse interrogates these targets in their native, cellular context to best ensure that discoveries in the lab translate into the clinic. www.lighthorsetx.com .

From the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago to the Jefferies Healthcare Conference in London, Fierce Biotech was on the ground to get the lowdown.\n The year kicked off with a flurry of dealmaking at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January, and the pace of news hasn’t let up since. We’ve seen Big Pharma dive into antibody-drug conjugate and radiopharma deals, while the race is on to find the next all-conquering obesity medicine.At the other end of the biopharma spectrum, the IPO window has cracked open and a number of companies have ventured to the public markets—with mixed results. Whether it was attending conferences, hosting panels of high-profile speakers or getting back in front of the podcast mic, Fierce Biotech and its sister publications have been hard at work to bring you breaking news and in-depth insights to make sense of a rapidly evolving sector. With the holiday season offering a rare chance to draw breath, we thought it was the perfect time to look back at some of the reporting we’re most proud of. Roche\'s pharma BD chief explains renewed ADC interest but is spoiled for choiceThe J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference not only sets the agenda for the rest of the year, it also offers the Fierce team unrivaled opportunities to sit down with some of the biggest names in the biz. This year’s event saw the hosts point to antibody-drug conjugates as the driver of dealmaking heat in the previous quarter, while Johnson & Johnson’s $2 billion deal for ADC developer Ambrx showed this trend was set to continue. Against this backdrop, it was no surprise that ADCs were top of conversation when Fierce Pharma’s Angus Liu sat down with Roche’s global head of pharma partnering, James Sabry, Ph.D., on the sidelines of the conference. Roche kicked off the year by inlicensing a next-gen ADC from China’s MediLink Therapeutics, and Sabry told Angus that when it comes to ADCs, the priority was in-house development first, external dealmaking second.“We’re not a fashion company,” Sabry said in the interview. “We don’t just jump on a bandwagon because everyone else is doing it. We do things because we really believe that an innovative product will bring unusual value to patients.” Read the story here Fierce’s cell therapy series2024 was a turning point for cell therapy, with Big Pharmas like Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb streamlining work in the space, confronted with manufacturing challenges and the reality of marketing a personalized therapy. With companies making slow progress in moving cell therapies into solid tumors and bispecifics stealing the spotlight, there has also been a trend towards targeting cell therapies at autoimmune disease.To survey this shifting landscape, as well as cram in as many interviews as possible, Fierce published a trio of pieces in May, looking at why cell therapies have “lost [their] luster” in cancer, the migration to autoimmune indications and the story behind CAR-T therapies’ newfound potential in lupus. Fierce Biotech\'s Gabrielle Masson presents Fierce 15 at NYSEUnveiling the Fierce 15 list is always a high point of our year, as we run down the 15 companies breaking barriers and defining the future of the industry. But in 2024 we took the news all the way to the trading floor, when associate editor Gabrielle Masson was invited to discuss the list—as well as the biggest trends in biotech—live on NYSE TV.What made Gabrielle’s appearance even more impressive was that she went in front of the cameras on just two hours of sleep, after her flight to New York was delayed by Hurricane Debby. But not even a Category 1 hurricane is enough to stop the team from spreading the word about the Fierce 15. Read the story here ASCO: Cautious Big Pharmas double down on past wins—steering clear of radioligands and cell therapyGabrielle also made it to this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, although the journey was slightly less arduous as the event takes place in her hometown of Chicago. The conference was back in full force for 2024, complete with digital business cards and a virtual reality ride courtesy of Gilead Sciences.“I think that people finally are showing up like in the old days,” Merck & Co.’s chief medical officer Eliav Barr, M.D., told Gabrielle on the sidelines of the event. Read the story here In the wake of Céline Dion\'s diagnosis and comeback, stiff-person syndrome researchers and advocates march toward a cureThis year saw Darren Incorvaia become the newest addition to the Fierce Biotech team, including heading up our Fierce Biotech Research newsletter. Darren’s coverage of the cutting edge of academic and preclinical R&D has seen him cover everything from why certain patients are excluded from oncology trials to biotechs’ increased interest in chromosomes in cancer cells.One standout was his conversation with an advocate for patients with stiff-person syndrome, conducted against the backdrop of singer Céline Dion’s diagnosis of the rare neurological disease. “The fact that people are researching it, the fact that we\'re getting therapies into clinical trials, it\'s definitely exciting,” Tara Zier, founder and CEO of the Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation, told Darren in the interview. Read the story here Biotech bankruptcies hit 10-year peak in 2023Fierce Biotech analyzed industry data to reach the stunning, and worrying, conclusion that more biotech companies filed for bankruptcy in 2023 than any year since 2010. The data, collated from S&P Global Market Intelligence, revealed that 18 companies filed for protection in 2023 compared to eight in 2022, which had previously held the record as the highest bankruptcy year. Judging by the stories that have already emerged from the likes of Gritstone bio and Seelos Therapeutics, the data for 2024 are unlikely to make for more pleasant reading. Read the story here \'Some call it the J.P. Morgan of Europe\': Jefferies\' London conference goes big for 2024Our U.K. and EU Bureau Chief James Waldron is a regular attendee at the Jefferies Healthcare Conference in London, but, this year, something felt different. The increased attendance meant the event burst out of the confines of its usual hotel, and everyone Fierce spoke with is now making comparisons to JPM.Does this mean we can soon expect to see pharmas arriving at future conferences armed with some big dealmaking announcements? Or is the real parallel the bad weather and overly packed venues? We\'ll check back in 2025 to see for ourselves. Read the story here Novo Nordisk’s chief scientific officer looks to the future of GLP-1sFierce Biotech and Fierce Pharma’s \"The Top Line\" podcast went from strength to strength in 2024, covering everything from the surge of investment in the neuroscience sector to an interview with the CEO of gene editing biotech Verve Therapeutics and even the secret formula behind a successful biotech brand name.One recent highlight was a conversation with Novo Nordisk’s Marcus Schindler, Ph.D., where the chief scientific officer not only gave Fierce the inside track on where the Wegovy-maker plans to take GLP-1s next but also reflected on the highs (and lows) of his own career at the company.Make sure to subscribe to \"The Top Line\" wherever you get your podcasts.

Company Name Revenue for First Three Quarters (in billion USD) Year-on-Year Growth Rate Pfizer 45.864 0.02 Merck 43.358 0.072 Johnson & Johnson 42.632 0.039 AbbVie 41.232 0.025 Roche 39.533 0.07 AstraZeneca 39.182 0.19 Novartis 37.164 0.11 BMS 35.958 0.07 Sanofi 32.124 0.115 Eli Lilly 31.5 0.27 Note: Only pharmaceutical and vaccine businesses are included; growth rates are in CER (Constant Exchange Rate). Eli Lilly reported total revenue of $31.5 billion for the first three quarters of the year, reflecting a 27% year-on-year increase, driven by strong performances from Tirzepatide and Semaglutide, which together generated over $20 billion in sales. Both products are expanding their production capacity and indications, with new market applications expected to be submitted by 2025. Other multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Sanofi, and AstraZeneca also achieved double-digit growth. However, companies like Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, and BMS saw slower growth rates, while GSK fell out of the top ten due to a decline in vaccine sales. Although Johnson & Johnson's innovative pharmaceutical segment grew, the increase was only 3.9%, and sales of its core product, Ustekinumab, experienced negative growth. The oncology segment became a growth highlight, with sales increasing by 17.2%. Johnson & Johnson is also expanding in the ADC field by acquiring Ambrx to enhance its competitiveness. AbbVie, despite slow overall revenue growth, saw significant increases in several products within its immunology and neuroscience divisions, such as Skyrizi and Rinvoq. AbbVie also acquired Aliada Therapeutics to strengthen its position in Alzheimer's treatment. GSK reported total revenue of approximately $29.3 billion for the first three quarters. Despite growth in its HIV, oncology, and respiratory/immunology segments, vaccine sales declined, particularly for the RSV and flu vaccines. GSK is attempting to revitalize its performance through business transformation.