French Biotech Companies at BIO 2026: Aceso Therapeutics, ADOCIA, Affilogic and more

𝐂𝐍𝐒 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐐𝟏 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞 The global CNS therapeutics market has officially reached $138.62 billion in 2026 and is projected to double to $285.72 billion by 2035 (an 8.64% CAGR). Backed by monumental investments like Isomorphic Labs' $600M seed round, Q1 2026 marks a definitive shift toward targeted, data-rich clinical progress. Here is a closer look at the core targets and clinical data reshaping the neuropharma pipeline: 1. Alzheimer’s: Tau, TREM2, & BBB Shuttles The focus is aggressively expanding from amyloid clearance to tau and neuroimmunity. Sanofi's SAR-448851 has entered Phase I as the first TREM2 agonist, utilizing a "molecular glue" mechanism to enhance the TREM2-DAP12 complex. To overcome blood-brain barrier (BBB) delivery challenges, Receptor-Mediated Transport (RMT) targeting the TfR1 receptor is exploding. Roche’s trontinemab (a TfR1 Brainshuttle) is showing potential to drastically reduce ARIA while pushing dosing intervals to once every three months. Validating this trend, AbbVie recently acquired Aliada for $1.4B to access its TfR/CD98 MODEL platform. 2. Gene Therapy: Targeted Genetic Payloads Gene therapies are maturing into robust, platform-based pipelines. Neurogene’s NGN-401: An AAV9 therapy delivering the full-length MECP2 gene with EXACT™ transgene regulation for Rett syndrome, which expects to complete Embolden Phase 1/2 dosing in Q2 2026. Voyager Therapeutics’ VY1706: Utilizing the TRACER™ capsid platform for tau-silencing in Alzheimer’s, an IND filing is slated for Q2 2026 following successful 3-month GLP toxicology data. Precision Biosciences’ PBGENE-DMD: Received FDA approval to initiate Phase I/II trials using ARCUS to excise the mutated dystrophin gene. 3. AI Outputs & Highly Selective Targets AI is now delivering tangible clinical compounds. Insilico Medicine’s ISM-8969, an AI-designed oral NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor, secured FDA IND approval to begin Phase I trials. Concurrently, targeted ion channel modulators are driving massive value; Saniona recently licensed SAN2355—a highly selective Kv7.2/Kv7.3 activator for epilepsy—to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for $42.5M upfront and up to $992.5M in milestones. 4. Precision Medicine & Proteomics We are moving far beyond traditional clinical classifications. The Pan NDA large-scale proteomic atlas mapped over 10,000 proteins across 2,279 brain samples. This massive dataset has officially redefined molecular subtypes for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lewy body dementia, allowing for unprecedented precision in future trial designs. The precision era of CNS development is not just coming; it's already here. CNS asset owners & BD teams: if you’re needing in-licensing or out-licensing assets, let's connect!. #CNS #Neuropharma #DrugDevelopment #Biotech #GeneTherapy #ReceptorMediatedTransport #ArtificialIntelligence #PrecisionMedicine #AlzheimersDisease #ClinicalTrials

PROTEIN KINASES OVERVIEW #Protein_kinases are central to cell signaling and key drug targets in cancer. To inform potential #repurposing of kinase inhibitors, authors profiled 86 of the ~100 approved kinase inhibitors against 758 kinases, including 409 wild-type and 349 oncogenic variants using a biochemical kinase assay. These results increase the number of #druggable kinases from 89 to 235, revealing that 94% of mutations and 97% of fusions represented in our samples are inhibited by at least one existing drug. The dataset revealed mutation-specific selectivity, especially in tyrosine kinases FGFR and MET, highlighting gaps and repurposing opportunities. They experimentally validated several actionable findings, including tepotinib to target the IRAK1/4–cholesterol pathway in #glioblastoma, #brigatinib to target the MARK2/3–Hippo pathway in #pancreatic_cancer and #gilteritinib to overcome MET mutation-driven drug resistance and metastasis. To facilitate exploration of data, they provide KIRHub, a web-based tool that allows identification of existing inhibitors of wild-type and mutated kinases to guide precision oncology. Nat Biotechnol (2026). Open Access. https://lnkd.in/dMGvbszY

🔬 Pharma & Biotech Pulse: Key Developments You Shouldn’t Miss The industry continues to move fast across M&A, innovation, and policy shifts. Here’s a sharp roundup of the latest 👇 🤝 Eli Lilly and Company is set to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for up to $7B, strengthening its position in next-gen in vivo CAR-T therapies for multiple myeloma. 💰 Kailera Therapeutics made waves with a $625M IPO, among the largest in biotech, to advance late-stage obesity assets licensed from Hengrui (key data expected 2027–2028). 🧠 A meta-review of 17 studies suggests anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s therapies may reduce plaques—but deliver limited clinical benefit, with increased safety concerns like brain swelling. 🤝 UCB will acquire Neurona Therapeutics (up to $1.15B), adding NRTX-1001, a promising cell therapy for drug-resistant epilepsy. 🦠 Nektar Therapeutics reported encouraging extension data in alopecia—patients with early response continued to show improvement. 📈 Alamar Biosciences, Inc. debuted on Nasdaq at a ~$1.5B valuation, highlighting growing interest in precision proteomics. 🤝 Biogen licensed Greater China rights to felzartamab from TJ Biopharma (up to $850M), expanding into kidney disease and oncology. 💉 Europe approved mComirnaty from Moderna — the first combined flu + COVID-19 vaccine. 💰 Tortugas Neuroscience launched with $106M, backed by Phase 2 CNS assets from Eisai and Hansoh. 💰 Ray Therapeutics, Inc. raised $125M Series B to push forward retinal gene therapies. 🤝 Amneal Pharmaceuticals will acquire Kashiv BioSciences LLC (up to $1.1B), boosting biosimilars capabilities. 🤖 Merck signed a multiyear $1B deal with Google Cloud to scale agentic AI across operations. 🚫 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedly blocked publication of a COVID vaccine study showing reduced hospitalizations in healthy adults—raising transparency concerns. 🧬 Kyverna Therapeutics reported strong Phase 2 results for miv-cel, positioning CAR-T as a potential breakthrough in autoimmune diseases. 💶 Kurma Partners closed Biofund IV at €215M, continuing strong momentum in European biotech investing. 👂 US Food and Drug Administration approved Otarmeni from Regeneron — a milestone as the first gene therapy cleared under the priority voucher pathway. 🏭 AbbVie is investing $1.4B in a new manufacturing campus in North Carolina focused on injectables. 🍄 Psychedelic biotech stocks surged after Donald Trump signaled faster FDA review pathways for these therapies. 🧬 Researchers in Boston demonstrated a breakthrough using CRISPR + XIST to silence the extra chromosome in Down syndrome cells (20–40% success). 📊 Bottom line: The sector is seeing a powerful mix of large-scale dealmaking, platform innovation (CAR-T, gene therapy, AI), and evolving regulatory dynamics—all pointing toward a more technology-driven future in drug development.

If you'd like to get more actual knowledge, please follow me and subscribe to my YouTube channel Drug safety from Galyna Cordero https://lnkd.in/dFbjtrf3 #pharmacovigilance #drugsafety #drug_safety #Farmak #insulin #nanotechnology #patientsafety #GalynaCordero Unveiling Strategies to Boost Insulin Receptor Affinity: Meeting New Challenges with Innovative Opportunities Insulin receptors, abundantly expressed on the surface of various cell types, belong to the receptor tyrosine kinase family. Upon insulin binding, these receptors undergo conformational changes, leading to autophosphorylation and activation of intracellular signalling pathways, notably the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. . Challenges in Insulin Receptor Affinity Enhancement: Despite the pivotal role of insulin receptors in metabolic regulation, enhancing their affinity presents formidable challenges. Insulin resistance, characterized by a reduced responsiveness of target tissues to insulin, often involves complex molecular mechanisms, including receptor downregulation, impaired signalling transduction, and elevated levels of circulating insulin. Additionally, genetic predisposition, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and inflammation contribute to insulin resistance, exacerbating the difficulty in modulating receptor affinity. Innovative Approaches to Enhance Insulin Receptor Affinity: Peptide-Based Mimetics: Designing peptide analogues that mimic the binding interface of insulin with its receptor holds promise for enhancing receptor affinity. These mimetics, engineered through structure-activity relationship studies, can exhibit superior binding kinetics and specificity, potentially overcoming insulin resistance. Small Molecule Agonists: Screening libraries of small molecules to identify compounds that allosterically modulate insulin receptor conformation represents another avenue for enhancing receptor affinity. Such agonists could potentiate insulin signalling even in the presence of diminished receptor sensitivity, offering a novel therapeutic paradigm for insulin resistance. Gene Therapy: Leveraging gene editing techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas9, to precisely modify insulin receptor genes holds transformative potential for enhancing receptor affinity. By introducing genetic modifications that promote receptor expression or alter receptor structure to enhance ligand binding, gene therapy offers a tailored approach to address insulin resistance at its root. Nanotechnology-Based Delivery Systems: Utilizing nanocarriers to encapsulate insulin or insulin receptor modulators enables targeted delivery to specific tissues or cells, enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing off-target effects. Nanoformulations can overcome barriers to cellular uptake and promote sustained release, optimizing the interaction between insulin and its receptors

👩🔬💬 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐥 & 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 👨🔬💬 🧬 Aldevron and Minaris Advanced Therapies expanded their partnership to accelerate gene‑modified cell therapy development by improving access to key lentiviral plasmid systems. The collaboration offers off‑the‑shelf, regulatory‑ready materials that simplify supply chains, reduce risk and shorten timelines. By combining advanced plasmid design with scalable cGMP manufacturing, the alliance aims to address production bottlenecks and enable faster progression from discovery to clinic. 🧬 VIVEbiotech launched EvoLVcell, a transfection‑free stable producer cell line platform for lentiviral vector manufacturing. It offers improved scalability, lower COGs, reduced variability and enhanced vector quality vs. transient transfection. The platform integrates the therapeutic transgene into a characterized packaging cell line, enabling prototype generation within 3 months. EvoLVcell simplifies workflows, reduces plasmid reliance, improves predictability and supports high‑throughput clone selection and flexible manufacturing. 🧬 Andelyn Biosciences launched its LVV Curator® platform, a standardized solution for lentiviral vector manufacturing. Built on its proven AAV Curator methodology, the platform offers a scalable, modular framework to transition from research to GMP production, reducing development time, cost and risk. It incorporates data‑driven process optimization, established cell lines with regulatory acceptance and integrated quality systems to deliver consistent, high‑quality vectors. 🦠 Cellares and ProTgen partnered to automate the manufacturing and quality control of ProT-096, a personalized progenitor T-cell therapy for patients with refractory leukemia and other blood cancers. Cellares will also support regulatory preparation for an IND submission. Using its automated Cell Shuttle and Cell Q platforms, the collaboration aims to improve scalability, consistency and cost efficiency. 🦠 Artiva Biotherapeutics raised approximately $300 million through an underwritten public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants. The company sold around 23.9 million shares at $11.52 each, alongside warrants for about 2.2 million shares at a near-identical price. The proceeds will support development of its cell therapy pipeline for autoimmune diseases, particularly advancing its lead NK cell therapy into a Phase 3 trial. 🧬 Valerio Therapeutics launched InVimmune, a new company focused on developing in vivo cell therapy approaches using immune reprogramming and targeted delivery technologies. Leveraging Valerio’s antibody platform, InVimmune aims to address multiple indications, including oncology, fibrosis, and autoimmune diseases, with an initial focus on oncology. 🛎 My aim is to be the messenger when it comes to your CGT & RNA therapy news. Follow #mCGT to stay updated! #celltherapy #genetherapy #ATMP #advancedtherapy

Why drug repurposing matters more than we think 🧬 Developing a new drug is one of the hardest challenges in medicine. According to the NIH, the average time from target discovery to approval of a new drug is about 14 years, the failure rate is more than 95%, and the cost per successful drug can be $1 billion or more. Source: https://lnkd.in/g3wzBhVP 👉 That is why approved drug repurposing matters. 🔁 Sometimes, the solution is not always a brand-new drug. It's a new way of using an already clinically approved one. This is one of the reasons I am so proud to share our Nature Biotechnology paper, where I had the privilege of contributing as a first author, along with the KiRHub platform we developed at Fred Hutch. 🔬 Nature Biotechnology Paper: https://lnkd.in/gEp5pE6Q 🌐 KiRHub: https://lnkd.in/gGsdyBYd In our study, we profiled clinical kinase inhibitors across hundreds of wild-type and mutant kinases to better understand how existing drugs could potentially be used in new ways for cancers. 🎯 What stood out most was this: Many cancer-associated mutations may already be targetable by drugs that are already clinically approved today. KiRHub was built to make this data easier to explore. Instead of keeping large datasets locked away in tables, the goal was to create a platform where researchers can search for kinase mutations, wild-type kinases, drug activity, and cancer dependencies in a more interactive way. For me, this project sits at the intersection of cancer biology, data science, precision oncology, and drug repurposing. 🧬 The bigger lesson is simple: Before we only ask, “What new drug can we create?” Maybe we should also ask: “What existing clinically approved drugs are we not using to their full potential?" #CancerResearch #DrugRepurposing #PrecisionOncology #Bioinformatics #KinaseInhibitors #NatureBiotechnology #FredHutch #DataScience #CancerBiology

Anyone in the market for a highly productive computational biologist? Full disclosure: I am hopelessly biased toward researchers who actually build open-source tools instead of just hoarding their code. Fortunately, Mehlam Saifudeen does exactly that, and he's currently looking for his next role. His recent first-author paper in Nature Biotechnology is a fantastic read. He comprehensively mapped out mutation-specific vulnerabilities for kinase inhibitors to identify new avenues for drug repurposing. But the real kicker? He went the extra mile and built the open-source Kinase Inhibitor Repurposing Hub so the rest of the community can actually use the data. Read the paper (and admire the tool-building) here: https://lnkd.in/gX3aEbr7

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐭 $𝟏𝟕.𝟏𝟖 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟑𝟓 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: https://lnkd.in/dm5yxtNC The global Gene Panel Market is valued at USD 3.68 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 17.18 billion by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 16.69% during the forecast period 2026–2035. Rising Adoption of Precision Medicine and Oncology Diagnostics Accelerates Market Growth Globally The rapid shift toward precision medicine is a key factor fueling the growth of the gene panel market. According to data from the National Cancer Institute, global cancer cases are expected to exceed 29 million annually by 2040, significantly increasing demand for advanced molecular diagnostics. Gene panels are widely used in oncology to identify actionable mutations in cancers such as lung, breast, and colorectal cancer, enabling targeted therapies and improving patient outcomes. Key Report Highlights • By application, oncology (cancer) dominated with a 47.56% market share in 2025, while pharmacogenomics is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 19.28% due to increasing drug-response profiling initiatives. • By product & service, test kits held a 58.34% share in 2025, whereas testing services are projected to expand at the fastest CAGR of 17.92%, supported by outsourcing trends and rising demand for clinical sequencing services. • By technology, hybridization-based sequencing accounted for 54.21% of the market in 2025, while amplicon-based sequencing is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 18.45% due to cost efficiency and rapid turnaround time. • By design, predesigned gene panels dominated with a 61.78% share in 2025, whereas customized gene panels are anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 17.36% as demand for disease-specific and patient-specific testing increases.   • By end user, hospitals & diagnostic laboratories led with a 52.89% share in 2025, while pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies are projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 18.67% driven by biomarker discovery and clinical trial applications. • Regionally, North America dominated with a 41.62% market share in 2025, while Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region with a CAGR of 18.78% during 2026–2035. Leading Companies in the Gene Panel Market: Illumina Thermo Fisher Scientific Agilent Technologies QIAGEN Roche BGI Genomics Eurofins Genomics Invitae Myriad Genetics Bio-Rad Laboratories Personalis, Inc. GENEWIZ from Azenta Life Sciences Twist Bioscience CENTOGENE Integrated DNA Technologies PerkinElmer BD Guardant Health SOPHiA GENETICS Foundation Medicine Novogene GeneDx #GenePanelMarket #Genomics #PrecisionMedicine #NGS #GeneticTesting #MolecularDiagnostics #OncologyDiagnostics #Agilent #Illumina #ThermoFisherScientific #QIAGEN #Eurofins

Spatial biology + AI drug-discovery company Kanvas Biosciences closes a $48M Series A financing co-led by DCVC, with significant new funding from the Gates Foundation. Kanvas, where I'm founding Chair, is making the microbiome druggable, turning biochemical insights about host-to-microbe gene interactions into real, life-changing medicines, through a series of connected innovations innovations: (1) The Kanvas Spectral Lightsheet, a proprietary high-resolution microscope; (2) Unprece­dented amounts of spatial biology data that train Kanvas’s AI drug-discovery platform; (3) The world's most comprehensive microbiome atlas; and (4) An anaerobic GMP facility in South San Francisco that can manufacture complex microbial consortia — some containing hundreds of unique members — into Live Biological Products (LBPs), resembling ordinary pills, consis­tently and at scale. The funding accompanies several important milestones, including a Phase I clinical trial for for KAN-004, an LBP that treats the colitis that many cancer patients develop after receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), allowing them to remain on the life-saving therapy longer. Later this year, Kanvas will also begin trials of a potential blockbuster immuno-oncology drug, KAN-001, designed to directly improve response rates to ICIs in patients with solid organ cancers. While ICIs like Keytruda — the world’s top-selling drug with $31.7 billion in 2025 revenue — are miraculous medicines that have revo­lu­tion­ized oncology, providing life-changing cures of the hardest-to-treat cancers, only 20 to 40 percent of patients currently respond to such therapies. Kanvas hopes that KAN-001 might double response rates to ICIs, while simul­ta­ne­ously reducing adverse events. The Gates Foundation's funding will develop the world’s first fully synthetic microbiome replacement for maternal envi­ron­mental enteric dysfunction (EED), a debil­i­tating intestinal condition, better known as tropical sprue, affecting approx­i­mately over 150 million people worldwide, primarily in poor countries in Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, Steve Quake, who pioneered the development of microflu­idics and its application to DNA sequencing and diagnostics, is joining Kanvas's board. DCVC blog, explaining why we're so excited by Kanvas below. Many congratulations to CEO and cofounder Matthew Cheng, CTO and cofounder Hao S., Chief Development Officer Lee Swem, and the whole Kanvas team. https://lnkd.in/gEqQDVSZ