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A Scotland, UK microbiome company has reported positive Phase 2a results for an experimental therapy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional gastrointestinal disorder. These disorders are related to problems with how the brain and gut work together to maintain gut equilibrium. EnteroBiotix is developing an oral microbiome therapeutic for patients with constipation or diarrhoea, two of the three IBS types. It also has a product in development for liver cirrhosis.

Amgen Inc has selected two preclinical European biotech companies for deals in oncology with the expectation that they will help the company deliver new treatments for acute myeloid leukaemia and small cell lung and colorectal cancers. Total outlays for the two deals could be as much as $1.46 billion. The largest transaction involves the acquisition of Dark Blue Therapeutics Ltd of the UK for up to $840 million. The smaller deal is a collaboration with Germany-based DISCO Pharmaceuticals GmbH which is potentially valued at $618 million plus royalties.

Citing Denmark as an example, the Trump Administration has issued revised guidance on childhood vaccination policy that lowers the number of immunisations recommended for all children from 2026 onward. The guidance was issued on 5 January and generated critiques from multiple sources who argued that the review lacked transparency. This was disputed by the Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr who said the changes followed “an exhaustive review of the evidence” and aligned US vaccine policy with that of other developed nations.

Novo Nordisk A/S has become the first developer of a weight loss drug to have its medicine approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a pill. The decision, announced on 22 December, enables Wegovy (semaglutide) to be administered orally, in addition to its four earlier approvals as an injectable treatment. This puts the Danish company in a stronger position than before, relative to its competitor Eli Lilly and Co which only recently submitted an oral obesity treatment to the FDA for review.

BC Platforms AG of Switzerland is to collaborate with a US data company to significantly increase its access to patient information for real world evidence studies. The agreement with GeneVault Lifesciences of Cambridge, US, was announced on 18 December and is expected to give the Swiss company new data sources across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. These regions represent some of the world’s most genetically diverse yet historically under-studied populations.

GSK Plc has received US approval for a new biologic to treat severe asthma, a disease driven high levels of white blood cells in the airwaves which can lead to inflammation and a shortness of breath. The Food and Drug Administration decision, announced on 16 December, will introduce a new drug to the market requiring dosing only twice per year. Exdensur (depemokimab) is a long-acting interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist. It prevents IL-5 from activating its receptor on eosinophils, thereby reducing an overproduction of the white blood cells.

Forbion of the Netherlands has co-led, along with Novartis Venture Fund, a $130 million Series B funding for a US company developing small molecule chaperones to correct the misfolding of proteins in cells – a cause of Alzheimer’s and other diseases. The developer, Protego Biopharma Inc of San Diego, US, is a clinical stage company whose lead product is poised to enter a trial in patients with primary amyloidosis, a disease affecting the heart and kidneys.

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi) is to pay up to $1.5 billion to acquire Arthrosi Therapeutics Inc of San Diego, US, which has a Phase 3 product for gout, a type of inflammatory arthritis caused by a build-up of uric acid in the blood. Sobi already has a product for gout in registrational studies in the US. The acquisition will expand its presence in the field where disease prevalence is expected to rise by more than 70% from 2020 to 2050 due to population growth and ageing, according to The Lancet Rheumatology.

Twelve former commissioners of the US Food and Drug Administration have rebuked proposed changes to vaccine policy at the agency saying that the measures will impede the development of new products to prevent infectious disease. Led by Robert Califf, the commissioners outlined their concerns in an article in the 3 December 2025 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr Califf was FDA commissioner until January 2025. Altogether, the group represents more than 35 years of FDA oversight and policymaking.

Laigo Bio BV, a Dutch biotech with a platform designed to promote the degradation of disease-causing proteins, has received €11.5 million in seed financing to advance early-stage programmes in oncology and autoimmunity. The financing was co-led by Kurma Partners of France and Curie Capital of the Netherlands. Other investors included France-based Argobio Studio, an incubator which participated in Laigo’s launch in 2022.