BioSpace

Silence Therapeutics plc’ lead siRNA asset for the rare blood cancer polycythemia vera has been earning analyst raves in a tight race to challenge Takeda in a potential $2 billion market. https://hubs.li/Q04Bz37h0

AbbVie’s next-gen dual-targeting therapy elicited higher rates of remission than its IL-23 inhibitor Skyrizi in a Phase 2a trial of Crohn’s disease, leading analysts to wonder if the blockbuster can be outdone. https://hubs.li/Q04ByYlZ0

Roche is offering $400 million upfront and over $15 billion in biobucks to team up with Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. in hopes of developing a portfolio of new antibody-drug conjugates using the latter’s in-house tech. https://hubs.li/Q04ByxwT0

The new policy signals an escalation by the Chinese government on biopharma deals but is unlikely to have a major impact given that the vast majority of foreign interest in Chinese biotech comes in the form of licensing agreements. https://hubs.li/Q04By50Z0

Novartis will continue to study Fabhalta in other indications, with late-stage studies in two rare diseases—atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome and generalized myasthenia gravis—expected to read out later this year and next year, respectively. https://hubs.li/Q04By4Q_0

Disc Medicine’s bitopertin—rejected by the FDA in February—significantly reduced levels of a key disease biomarker and significantly increased the time patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria were able to spend in the sun and artificial light. https://hubs.li/Q04Bx_hJ0

In the wake of a successful IPO and strong stock growth throughout the year, Veradermics now has late-stage data to support a regulatory package for its hair loss pill. https://hubs.li/Q04BxD5P0

High-quality cytokines for organoid growth, differentiation, and expansion https://hubs.li/Q04BxCPy0

At the European Society of Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid this weekend, analysts will be watching for detailed data on Merck and Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine, Summit Therapeutics, Inc. and Akeso Biopharma’s PD-1xVEGF bispecific therapy, and a host of antibody-drug conjugates. https://hubs.li/Q04BxCNc0

While GLP-1 medicines have become synonymous with weight loss, at least one expert thinks amylin would have been the go-to target if biopharma had been focused on the blockbuster indication 10 years ago. A new wave of therapies is now exploring this potentially gentler mechanism. https://hubs.li/Q04BxB5V0