Modulight Biotherapeutics

Plus, news about Modulight Biotherapeutics, T-Therapeutics and EnGene: 🛑 MacroGenics cans PD-1xCTLA-4 bispecific in prostate cancer : The company said it would stop development of lorigerlimab in prostate cancer after looking at the interim data from a Phase 2 trial. The study was assessing the antibody on top of standard of care — chemo and steroids — in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The drug remains in Phase 2 development in ovarian and other gynecologic cancers. Elsewhere, MacroGenics said it would receive $50 million from Sanofi and $25 million from Gilead before the end of the year. These are licensing payments: Sanofi has rights to the type 1 diabetes immunotherapy Tzield, which was recently approved in the UK and China. Gilead extended an existing deal with MacroGenics to include a preclinical program based on its novel T cell engager platform. — Elizabeth Cairns 🤝 Third Arc Bio taps Adagene for two T cell engagers: Third Arc, a biotech led by former J&J oncology head Peter Lebowitz, will pay Adagene $5 million upfront in a deal that comes with up to $840 million in milestones. The partners will develop two ‘masked’ T cell engagers, for which Third Arc will get global rights. However, Suzhou and San Diego-based Adagene will have the option to develop the drugs in  Greater China, Singapore and South Korea. — Lei Lei Wu 🌱 Modulight Biotherapeutics scores $12.2M in seed funding : The round was led by Jibe Ventures and LocalGlobe, and the cash will help speed the development of Modulight’s optogenetic technology as well as move its therapeutic pipeline towards the clinic. — Elizabeth Cairns 💰 T-Therapeutics extends Series A to $91M : The additional funding of $32 million comes from new investors Tencent and BGF, plus all of the biotech’s existing major shareholders. The company will spend the money on advancing its novel TCR-CD3 bispecifics in cancer and autoimmune disease. — Elizabeth Cairns 💰 EnGene raises $130M in share sale : The offering follows the release of more positive pivotal data on enGene’s bladder cancer gene therapy, which drove the biotech’s share price up 65%. — Elizabeth Cairns