Arrakis Therapeutics, Inc.

Company to present preclinical data for its lead, rationally designed, RNA-targeted small molecule drug program for treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) Waltham, Mass., March 10, 2025 – Arrakis Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery of a new class of small molecule medicines that directly target RNA, today announced that the company will present preclinical data for its RNA-targeted small molecule (rSM) drug program for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), a form of muscular dystrophy. The data will be presented in an oral session at the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) 2025 Clinical and Scientific Conference taking place on March 16-19 in Dallas, Texas. Details of the presentation are as follows: Presentation Title:Discovery of Small Molecules that Bind CUG Repeats, Displace Muscleblind Protein, and Improve Pathogenesis of Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Session: Preclinical Studies in Dystrophies and Myopathies Date:Wednesday, March 19, 2025 Time: 10:15 a.m. CDT Presenter: Domi Stickens, PhD, Vice President, Discovery and Translational Sciences Arrakis’s DM1 drug program represents a rationally designed small molecule genetic medicine directed at a pathogenic RNA to achieve reversal of myotonia in an animal model of DM1. Utilizing the company’s multi-modality rSM drug platform, this approach broadens the potential of genetic medicines to treat diseases at their root cause with oral small molecule medicines that have benefits of systemic biodistribution, convenient oral delivery, cost-efficient manufacturing, and established supply chains. About the rSM Program to Treat Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1) Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a form of muscular dystrophy and a genetic neuromuscular disease affecting at least 1 in 8,000 people worldwide or approximately 45,000 people in the United States. It is a multi-system disease, affecting the skeletal muscle, heart, diaphragm, central nervous system, and gastro-intestinal tract. DM1 is caused by a trinucleotide (CUG) repeat expansion of the RNA encoding myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK ), resulting in the formation of nuclear aggregates that bind and sequester splicing factors important for cellular function. Arrakis’s rSM selectively binds to CUG repeats, disrupting aggregate formation in cells, liberating splicing factors, and correcting splicing defects in genes that drive DM1 pathology, including myotonia. About Arrakis Therapeutics Arrakis Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery of a new class of medicines that directly target RNA. Arrakis is building a proprietary pipeline of RNA-targeted small molecule (rSM) medicines focused on genetically validated targets and numerous disease areas. The company brings together scientific leaders in RNA structure, chemistry and biology, along with a highly experienced management team and the backing of leading life sciences investors. The company is located in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.arrakistx.com and engage with us on LinkedIn. Media Contact: Kathryn Morris The Yates Network LLC 914-204-6412 kathryn@theyatesnetwork.com

Today, a brief rundown of news involving Gilead and Padlock Therapeutics, as well as updates from Boundless Bio, Lonzaand Bausch + Lomb that you may have missed.Investors of Padlock Therapeutics have sued Bristol Myers Squibb for allegedly refusing to make milestone payments tied to its 2016 acquisition of the biotechnology startup, Endpoints Newsfirst reported. Bristol bought Padlock for $150 million in cash, and promised the startups shareholders up to another $450 million if certain progress points were met. A Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit unsealed this week and filed by investors including Atlas Venture, though, claimed Bristol has reneged on those obligations, according to the report. Bristol reportedly intends to respond to Padlock investors in court.Disputes like this arent rampant, Padlocks founding CEO Michael Gilman, now the head of Arrakis Therapeutics,told BioPharma Dive. But if that occurs, there are substantial implications for everyonebecause the upfront/milestone structure is a blueprint for our industry, benefits all parties involved, and relies on trust that buyers will act in good faith after a deal closes. That theres a breakdown in trust and good faith here is probably obvious. And its unfortunate for everyone involved, Gilman said. Ben FidlerDietmar Berger will succeed Merdad Parsey as Gileads top doctor, the drugmaker announced Thursday. A hematologist and oncologist, Berger was previously chief medical officer at Sanofi. At Gilead, hell oversee the companys work in virology, oncology and inflammation, as well as its development and medical affairs units. Gilead previously announced Parseys plans to depart in the first quarter of 2025. Dietmars exceptional leadership in global drug development, his track record in delivering transformational therapies, and the breadth and depth of his experience make him an ideal choice as Gileads Chief Medical Officer, Gilead CEO Daniel ODay said in a statement. Ned PagliaruloTwo Boundless Bioexecutives are resigning, alongside a decision by the company to stop developing one of its top drug candidates. Boundless said Thursday that Chief Medical Officer Klaus Wagner and Chief Business Officer Neil Abdollahian are stepping down in December and January, respectively. Boundless will search for a full-time replacement for Wagner while company adviser James Freddo serves as interim CMO, but it doesnt intend to appoint a new CMO. Boundless also cited the competitive landscape in deciding not to advance a solid tumor drug into Phase 2 testing, as previously planned. The company has already laid off staff, and lost most of its market value, since going public in March. Ben FidlerLonza plans to shed its capsules and health ingredients unit to focus on its core contract development and manufacturing business, the company confirmed Wednesday in announcing a new corporate structure. Under new CEO Wolfgang Wienand, Lonza will consolidate its current organization across nine business units into three business platforms focused on mammalian and drug product services, small molecules and specialized drug modalities. The CDMO expects its new model to deliver, on average, low teens sales growth in constant exchange rates. Ned PagliaruloContact lenses maker Bausch + Lomb confirmed it is exploring a potential sale in a Thursday statement responding to inquiries from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization about volatility in its share price. The Financial Times previously reported private equity firms Blackstone and TPG were considering buying the company, but on Tuesday wrote the deal may not happen due to Blackstones concerns over the price. In its statement, Bausch + Lomb said that it continues to consider a sale, but cant give any assurances about reaching an agreement. The company is led by Brent Saunders, who sold Allergan to AbbVie for $63 billion in 2019. Ned Pagliarulo '

Former shareholders in autoimmune biotech acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb are suing the large pharma for what they claim are missed milestone payments and maneuvers to discredit the biotech’s work. BMS bought Padlock Therapeutics in 2016 for $150 million upfront and up to an additional $450 million if certain R&D and regulatory milestones were hit. Padlock’s shareholders are now claiming that BMS moved a monoclonal antibody into the clinic in November 2023, and that asset — BMS-986454 — was derived from the startup’s R&D. They say the company didn’t tell them that the clinical milestone had been achieved. If it had, that would have triggered a payment to shareholders. “BMS decided to renege on the deal and claim all of the benefits of Padlock’s discoveries for itself,” the Padlock shareholders said in their legal filing. The dispute was made public on Monday in a legal filing in the Delaware Court of the Chancery. Padlock was founded in 2014 by repeat biotech entrepreneur and industry veteran Michael Gilman, who currently leads Arrakis Therapeutics. “The larger issue here is that the success of our whole industry is built on deals like this,” Gilman said in a statement to Endpoints News on Thursday. “Now they’ve advanced one of our antibodies into the clinic. We believe they owe our shareholders — which includes our scientific founders and advisors and all of our employees, as well as the venture investors — a contractually agreed milestone payment. They disagree. So we’ve gone to court on behalf of the shareholders.” The lawsuit showcases the risk that biotech investors and shareholders take when selling startups on a tiered payout schedule contingent upon milestones. At least 15 of the approximately 45 biopharma M&A deals tracked by Endpoints News this year have involved milestones or contingent value rights. “BMS has always complied with its obligations in connection with its acquisition of Padlock,” a BMS spokesperson said in a statement to Endpoints News on Thursday. “We will respond to these allegations in court.” BMS was also recently sued by former shareholders of Celgene, which it acquired in 2019. Last month, they claimed BMS delayed seeking approval of certain drugs, including Breyanzi, by certain deadlines so it wouldn’t have to make payments to the shareholders, according to Reuters . The Padlock deal was an outright acquisition, but many collaborations are also structured via upfront and biobuck payment schedules. A review of 128 biopharma deals showed that 53% of milestone payments were pending and 30% had been missed, according to a report last year from M&A services provider SRS Acquiom. It also found that, out of 211 earnout deals with at least one milestone due by mid-2023, 28% had a dispute regarding milestones. Padlock was focused on a class of enzymes known as protein-arginine deiminases, or PADs, which drum up inflammation. Gilman and the Padlock team invented PAD inhibitors that can break up the inflammatory cycle and stop the damage that PAD enzymes unlock on the body, according to the legal filing. The inhibitors are thought to have the potential to treat RA, lupus, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. Their work gained the attention of blue-chip investors like Atlas Venture, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, MS Ventures and Index Ventures, which invested in Padlock’s $23 million Series A. In his statement, Gilman said he was “thrilled BMS is taking one of the Padlock antibodies into the clinic.” “Fast forward eight years, and I believe this target is even better validated and more valuable,” Gilman said. “BMS presumably believes that because they’ve continued to invest in the Padlock molecules all this time.”