Bristol Myers Squibb Co.

CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enhanced Genomics (‘Enhanced’ or ‘the Company’), the biotechnology company pioneering 3D multi-omics to rapidly identify high-confidence, genetically validated drug targets for common diseases, today announced Katerina Leftheris, Ph.D. has joined its Board of Directors. Katerina’s appointment as a Director forms part of the Company’s ongoing strategy to expand its internal therapeutics pipeline for drug targets identified using its 3D multi-omics platform. Katerina is an experienced scientific and executive leader, with over 30 years of experience in senior scientific positions in large pharma and biotech companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Celgene (acquired by BMS), and Pliant Therapeutics, during which time she led discovery and development programs to advance 15 compounds into clinical development. Most recently, Katerina was Chief Scientific Officer at a machine learning-based oral macrocycle drug development company, Vilya, and is on the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory boards for several biotech companies focused on therapeutics development. Katerina was recently elected 2026 Vice Chair for the Medicinal Chemistry (MEDI) Division and member of the Committee on Science for the American Chemical Society. She is also a visiting Professor of Chemistry at Stony Brook University. Katerina was awarded a PhD in Organic Chemistry from UC San Diego and holds a BA in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Smith College. Bringing extensive experience, particularly in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery programs, Katerina will support the executive team in driving development of Enhanced’s internal therapeutics pipeline for drug targets identified using its 3D multi-omics platform, GenLink™. The Company’s proprietary platform and cell type-specific atlas enable the identification of novel disease targets from disease-associated variants on a genome-wide scale, with strong evidence of causal biology to expedite the drug discovery process and increase the probability of success in pharmaceutical drug development. Dietrich A. Stephan, Ph.D., Executive Chair, Enhanced Genomics, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Katerina as the newest member of our Board. Her exceptional expertise in therapeutics discovery and clinical drug development will be an invaluable asset as we progress our ambitious plans to drive the next era of precision therapeutics development.” Katerina Leftheris, Ph.D., Director, Enhanced Genomics, added: “Building on decades of genomics research, Enhanced’s 3D multi-omics platform has the potential to define causal biology, enabling the identification of high-confidence, first-in-class therapeutic targets, to drive the development of truly disease-modifying therapies. I look forward to supporting the executive team to advance the development of the Company’s pipeline of effective precision therapies for genetically complex diseases.”

The $318 million proceeds make Aktis a larger IPO than any of the handful of biotech offerings last year.\n Aktis Oncology exceeded its own expectations for its IPO in a good omen for those hoping for a more inviting public market this year.The company, which has accrued an impressive list of Big Pharma backers in its previous funding rounds, estimated earlier this week that it would sell 11.8 million shares priced between $16 and $18 apiece. But the IPO this morning sees the biotech reach the top end of the price range while bumping up the number of shares to 17.6 million.The recalibrated figures mean the IPO should bring in gross proceeds of about $318 million—significantly above the net proceeds of $181.7 million the company had predicted Monday.The proceeds could rise by another $47.6 million if underwriters take up their 30-day offer to buy an additional 2.6 million shares at the same price of $18. The previous expectation was that Aktis would only offer 1.7 million shares to underwriters.Aktis’ shares are due to start trading on the Nasdaq Friday morning under the ticker “AKTS.”The $318 million proceeds make the biotech a larger IPO than any of the handful of biotech offerings last year—beating obesity biotech Metsera’s $275 million, LB Pharmaceuticals’ $285 million or MapLight Therapeutics’ $250 million IPOs.In its filing on Monday, Aktis explained how it had earmarked between $140 million and $150 million of the proceeds to fund the ongoing U.S. phase 1b study of the miniprotein radiopharmaceutical Ac-AKY-1189 for Nectin-4 expressing tumors. Preliminary results from the dose-escalation portion of the study are expected to read out in the first quarter of 2027. Aktis has previously pointed out that Pfizer and Astellas\' Padcev, an antibody-drug conjugate that also targets Nectin-4, brought in worldwide sales of $1.9 billion in 2024. Aktis has argued that Padcev has had “limited” impact beyond urothelial cancer due to the need to develop a companion diagnostic.The biotech is hoping to carve out its own niche for Ac-AKY-1189 by using imaging radioisotopes conjugated to the drug to select patients most likely to benefit from the treatment.Meanwhile, another $70 million to $80 million of the IPO proceeds is expected to fund the launch a phase 1b study of its second asset, Ac-AKY-2519, for B7-H3 expressing tumors, according to Monday’s filing.Aktis oversaw 76 full-time employees as of September 2025, who are based across a site in Boston and another in Durham, North Carolina. The company, which ended September with $246.2 million still in the bank, has previously said it expects the IPO proceeds will help keep the company financed until the first half of 2028.The biotech saw the likes of Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck & Co.’s MRL Ventures Fund join previous backer Eli Lilly for a $175 million series B last year. The pharma attention was based on Aktis’ platform for delivering alpha emitters to cancer cells using miniproteins, an approach that could potentially destroy tumors without causing intolerable harm to healthy tissues.Aktis’ upsized IPO backs up industry observers’ predictions to Fierce that the IPO window could reopen in 2026—although no other biotechs have yet confirmed they will be following Aktis’ lead this year.

Johnson & Johnson becomes the latest to jump on the most-favoured nation (MFN) bandwagon, striking a voluntary drug pricing agreement with the Trump Administration to join 14 other big pharma peers.Under the deal announced Thursday, J&J will participate in TrumpRx, a direct-to-patient platform offering medicines at significantly discounted rates, and enable US patients to access drugs at prices comparable to other developed countries. In return, the company will secure an exemption from tariffs for its pharmaceutical products. The drugmaker further noted it will extend comparable pricing to Medicaid programmes.J&J CEO Joaquin Duato said the "agreement shows that when the public and private sectors work together towards shared goals, we can deliver real results for patients and the US economy."The J&J deal closely follows nine companies — Sanofi, Novartis, Roche's Genentech unit, Gilead Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, Merck & Co. and Amgen — agreeing to list their most popular products on TrumpRx last month. This was preceded by similar MFN pacts from Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Merck KGaA, AstraZeneca and Pfizer since September last year. (see – Spotlight On: Industry experts say TrumpRx may flip script on drug access, with Pfizer leading the way — if outcomes trump optics and Physician Views Results: Docs meet TrumpRx with healthy dose of scepticism).US investments on trackJ&J also provided updates to its previously announced $55-billion US investment programme, scheduled for completion by early 2029. As part of the commitment, the company unveiled plans for two new manufacturing facilities — a next-generation cell therapy site in Pennsylvania and a drug product manufacturing facility in North Carolina.Meanwhile, construction is progressing steadily on the $2-billion biologics manufacturing plant in Wilson, North Carolina, which is expected to generate around 5,000 skilled manufacturing and construction jobs. In September, J&J also said it will invest $2 billion over the next 10 years in Fujifilm’s Holly Springs, North Carolina site, creating about 120 jobs.The company is expected to announce additional US investments later this year, underscoring its commitment to expanding domestic manufacturing for advanced medicines.