April 1, 2019 | LifeSciVC
Back in September 2018, the FDA approved Lilly’s Emgality, an anti-CGRP antibody therapy, for the preventative treatment of episodic and chronic migraine.
Arteaus Therapeutics, a biotech company founded by Atlas Venture in 2011, played a critical role in Emgality’s early development, helping it rapidly advance from its first-in-human studies through a randomized, controlled, double-blinded Phase 2 Proof of Concept (PoC) trial in only 30 months.
April 1, 2019 | LifeSciVC
Today Novartis announced the acquisition of IFM Therapeutics’ portfolio of NLRP3 antagonists, via the purchase of IFM Tre, a subsidiary of IFM (here, here). These immunomodulatory medicines target the inflammasome, a key innate immune node whose pathologic chronic activation is associated with several metabolic, fibrotic, autoimmune, and neurological diseases.
April 1, 2019 | In the News
It’s the lucky biotech that has a short and sweet runway. Most companies bring a drug to market — and begin to bring in revenue — only after years or decades of work.
But a company backed by Atlas Venture that’s less than a year old is the first acquisition of 2019 for Novartis. The pharmaceutical giant is paying more than $300 million upfront for IFM Tre, a Boston-based startup, in a deal that could be worth more than $1.5 billion if the company’s drugs meet certain undisclosed milestones.
March 12, 2019 | From the Trenches
Over my experience building several therapeutics companies, I’ve sometimes observed a Field of Dreams approach to therapeutics: if we build it, they (patients, health system, payors) will come. Last month’s hearing in Congress on pharmaceutical access, and the overall debate on how to pay for new therapies drives home that adoption of a therapy doesn’t always naturally follow an approval. Articulating the value of each therapy we deliver to the health care system is a critical complement to all of the clinical data we generate to maximize the likelihood that our innovations get to patients who need them.
This blog was written by Ankit Mahadevia, CEO and founder of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC.
February 25, 2019 | LifeSciVC
JB Harvey broke his personal record earlier this winter by skiing over 22 trails in a single day at Loon Mountain. It was an awesome day. And 22 runs would be a huge day for anyone, but it was particularly so for JB, as he’s an 11-year-old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).