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Foventa Therapeutics CEO Olav Hellebø spoke to Business Weekly about the company’s refreshed identity and its ambitions as it prepares for a Series A raise. The story explores how the Cambridge biotech (formerly Exonate) has rebranded to reflect its evolution from a discovery‑stage organisation into a clinical‑stage company advancing FOV407, a first‑in‑class eye‑drop treatment for non‑proliferative diabetic retinopathy. With new leadership including Chief Medical Officer Dr Zaiba Malik and Chief Financial Officer Julia Jones, Foventa is positioning itself to scale its SRPK1 inhibitor platform and accelerate development of a therapy designed to intervene earlier in diabetic eye disease.
Hellebø outlines how FOV407 has progressed through Phase Ib/IIa studies and recently secured FDA Type C meeting validation for its Phase IIb design, marking a significant milestone as the company moves toward its next stage of growth. The rebrand signals a sharpened mission: to deliver a convenient, non‑invasive treatment option for millions of patients at risk of vision loss. Together, the leadership changes, clinical momentum and Series A ambitions illustrate a company entering a new chapter with a clear scientific rationale and a strong commercial trajectory.
Read the full story here.
Drug Discovery World's Diana Turner interviewed with Dr Peter Smith, Executive Chair of Racura Oncology, following the company’s AU$34.3 million raise to advance RC220 across AML, EGFR‑mutant NSCLC and anthracycline cardioprotection.
Smith explains how Racura revived (E,E)-bisantrene (once abandoned due to solubility issues) after discovering it silences MYC by stabilising the G‑quadruplex in the MYC promoter, offering a way to tackle treatment resistance in cancers where MYC is heavily upregulated. The discussion covers Racura’s reformulation breakthrough, its Phase III plans in AML, the HARNESS‑1 trial aiming to delay osimertinib resistance, and how MYC suppression could unlock broader precision‑oncology combinations.
Read the full article here.
Drug Target Review explores why researchers at Racura Oncology are taking a fresh look at bisantrene, an anticancer drug first developed decades ago but later abandoned before reaching full clinical potential. The article highlights how modern molecular tools have revealed new mechanistic insights that were previously inaccessible, including evidence that bisantrene may suppress MYC, one of oncology’s most challenging targets, through interactions with G‑quadruplex DNA structures.
These findings have prompted renewed interest from biotech innovators who see value in revisiting discontinued compounds with strong biological rationale and known safety profiles. With new data emerging from preclinical studies and early clinical programmes, bisantrene is becoming a case study in how legacy molecules can be re‑evaluated and repurposed using today’s more advanced understanding of cancer biology.
Read the full story here.
MedNous recently sat down with the scientific and clinical leads at One‑carbon Therapeutics to explore how renewed attention on one‑carbon metabolism is reshaping the therapeutic landscape for hard‑to‑treat solid tumours. The feature traces the company’s journey from fundamental metabolic biology to a first‑in‑human programme, detailing how dysregulated folate flux, formate overflow and MTHFD1/2 activity create exploitable vulnerabilities in cancer cells — vulnerabilities that One‑carbon is now targeting with its first‑in‑class dual inhibitor, TH9619.
The article highlights how TH9619’s folate‑trapping mechanism selectively induces nucleotide shortage and DNA damage in tumour cells while sparing normal tissue, and how the ongoing ODIN Phase 1/2 study is designed to translate this biology into clinical impact for patients with advanced refractory cancers. With European sites actively enrolling and mechanistic data continuing to build, One‑carbon outlines why one‑carbon metabolism may represent one of the most promising new frontiers in precision oncology.
To read the full analysis of the science, strategy and clinical path ahead, access the complete MedNous article.
Albus Health’s CEO, Mikesh Udani, explains to Diana Andrade of Clinical Trial Vanguard, how the company’s passive, contactless bedside device is reshaping what clinical trials can measure at home by prioritizing privacy from the outset. The system captures sleep, respiratory metrics, cough and other symptoms without wearables or patient effort, enabling long‑term, clinically accurate monitoring that was previously only possible in sleep labs—crucial for paediatrics, rare diseases, oncology and chronic conditions where nighttime symptoms signal deterioration or treatment response.
Udani emphasises that privacy‑by‑design is both an ethical foundation and a commercial differentiator: Albus collects only anonymised symptom data, meets stringent global regulatory standards, and consistently earns high patient trust. This combination of passive monitoring, rigorous data protection and patient‑centred design is allowing pharma sponsors to run more inclusive, lower‑burden, higher‑quality trials across more than 40 countries.
Read the full article here.
CuraCell's head of clinical operations, Torbjörn Ström, spoke with Clinical Leader Executive Editor Abby Proch about the company’s efforts to reshape the future of T‑cell therapy for cold solid tumors. The interview explores how CuraCell’s CytoPLY platform rejuvenates a patient’s own tumor‑infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), improving their expansion, potency, and cytokine production without genetic modification — a strategy designed to overcome the limitations of conventional cell therapies.
Ström highlights encouraging early activity across prostate cancer, glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, and renal cell carcinoma, supporting CuraCell’s belief that a “polyclonal, unselected TIL approach may have broader applicability than many targeted therapies.” These insights have shaped CC‑38, the company’s first clinical candidate now in Phase I/IIa trials, which uses gentler preconditioning, multi‑dose administration, and a streamlined manufacturing process to reduce treatment burden and expand access for patients with cold solid tumors.
Read the full conversation here.
In pharmaphorum, reporter Nicole Raleigh spotlights Gothenburg’s rise as one of Europe’s most dynamic life sciences hubs, describing how the region now accounts for more than a third of Sweden’s total business R&D expenditure. Her piece highlights the country’s broader momentum — from major acquisitions and government sustainability investments to cutting‑edge academic research and biotech breakthroughs — illustrating how Sweden’s collaborative model between industry, academia and the public sector continues to fuel innovation.
Raleigh’s visit to GoCo Health Innovation City showcases this ecosystem in action, including Thermo Fisher Scientific’s newly opened bioanalytical laboratory and its partnership with AstraZeneca’s BioVentureHub. Leaders from both organisations outline how co‑location, shared capabilities and Sweden’s deep talent pool create ideal conditions for next‑generation drug development, digital health integration and cross‑sector innovation. The article frames Gothenburg as a uniquely fertile environment where global companies, start‑ups and researchers converge — and where Sweden’s culture of openness and resource‑sharing is driving life sciences growth well beyond its size.
Read the full article here.
In ONdrugDelivery, Nanexa’s Anders Johansson, Polla Rouf and Oliver Hedge outline how the company’s PharmaShell ALD nanocoating technology is enabling once‑monthly — and potentially once‑quarterly — injectable therapies. The authors explain how ultra‑thin, inorganic ALD coatings applied to drug microparticles create highly controlled depot formulations that dissolve at a tuned rate, delivering steady drug release over weeks to months. By avoiding polymer‑based systems and their unpredictable burst‑and‑tail behaviour, PharmaShell achieves flatter pharmacokinetic profiles, reduced peak‑related side effects and significantly lower dosing frequency.
The article highlights Nanexa’s progress with long‑acting GLP‑1 therapies, including a once‑monthly semaglutide depot supported by preclinical data and earlier clinical proof‑of‑concept from a PharmaShell‑coated liraglutide study. Recent formulation advances have produced near‑linear 30‑day release, improved tolerability and a ready‑to‑use suspension compatible with fine‑gauge needles and autoinjectors. With scale‑up plans underway and device integration progressing, the authors position PharmaShell as a next‑generation delivery platform capable of transforming chronic disease management through smarter, ultra‑long‑acting injectables.
Read the full article here.
Bree Foster, assistant editor at Drug Discovery News, sat down with Daniel Tillett, the CEO of Racura Oncology, to discuss G-quadruplexes, or G4 structures that are pivotal to the Australian biotech's approach to cancer.
“These G-quadruplex structures are found throughout the genome, but they’re particularly enriched in promoter regions of important genes, where they act as regulatory elements,” Tillett explained.
To read how Racura is using G4 structures in its approach to AML and lung caner, read the full article here.
In a recent column for Clinical Leader, Dicot Pharma CEO Elin Trampe discussed how clinical milestones, financing strategy, shareholder value, and partnering considerations must be tightly integrated in early development through late-stage planning.
She also outlined how maintaining scientific rigour while building long-term commercial value shapes trial design, investor communication, and licensing timing in a competitive biotech landscape.
The full article can be accessed here.