AbbVie Reports Phase 2 Eczema Data for Zumilokibart, Joins AI Consortium

Matchpoint Therapeutics has closed a $150 million Series B financing co-led by Nextech Invest and Norwest. New investors Invus, BB Biotech, T1D Fund, and BOLD Longevity Growth participated, alongside founding investors Access Biotechnology and Atlas Venture, lead Series A investor Sanofi Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, and all other existing investors. Proceeds will support progression of the lead asset MPT-062, an oral first-in-class T cell modulator, to clinical proof-of-concept, with clinical development to begin in 2027, and advancement of the company's broader pipeline, including an additional program funded by Novartis through their July 2025 agreement. Kanishka Pothula, Managing Partner at Nextech Invest, and Brian Matesic, Principal at Norwest, will join Matchpoint's Board of Directors in connection with the financing. Matchpoint is a privately held biotechnology company based in Watertown, Massachusetts, developing oral medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Guggenheim named Zura Bio a top pick in the biotechnology sector, reiterating its Buy rating and $20 price target ahead of the company's Phase II TibuSHIELD readout in hidradenitis suppurativa, expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. Analysts said the 16-week topline results for tibulizumab, an IL-17A x BAFF bispecific antibody, represent a key catalyst for the stock, and Guggenheim argues that hidradenitis suppurativa treatment has reached an efficacy ceiling, with newer drugs such as sonelokimab and abdakibart struggling to exceed roughly 15-20% placebo-adjusted HiSCR75 response rates. The firm calls tibulizumab the most advanced bispecific in hidradenitis suppurativa because it blocks both IL-17A on the T-cell side and BAFF on the B-cell side in a single molecule, a dual mechanism it expects could deliver broader control across moderate-to-severe Hurley stages, including late-stage disease. Guggenheim describes buy-side expectations as "moderately low" and sees limited downside beyond the binary readout, because ZURA also has an SSc Phase II readout in 1H27, a planned PMR study and earlier pipeline assets; its $20 target comes from a sum-of-the-parts model, with about $12 per share from HS, $7 from SSc and $1 from the pipeline, using a 10% discount rate and no terminal value, and modeling roughly $1.6B in peak HS sales. The brokerage outlines three scenarios for TibuSHIELD measured by placebo-adjusted HiSCR75: an upside case, assigned 25% probability, assumes a result above 20% and implies a stock price near $15; a base case, with 40% probability, assumes 15-20% and implies $8-10; and a bear case, with 35% probability, assumes a non-significant result or new adverse events and implies $2.50-3.00.

Johnson & Johnson reported new two-year Phase 3 ICONIC-TOTAL data showing its oral peptide ICOTYDE, or icotrokinra, maintained skin clearance and consistent safety in adults and adolescents with high-impact plaque psoriasis through Week 112. The results highlight ICOTYDE's potential as a once-daily, targeted oral alternative for difficult-to-treat areas such as scalp, genital skin, hands, feet and nails. The company's narrative projects $120.5 billion in revenue and $28.6 billion in earnings by 2029, requiring 7.2% yearly revenue growth and a $7.6 billion earnings increase from $21.0 billion today, with a $270.59 fair value implying 6% upside. Some of the lowest-estimate analysts saw 2029 earnings at about US$22.6 billion and still worried that slower ICOTYDE or TREMFYA uptake could keep margins under pressure. The update reinforces Johnson & Johnson's Innovative Medicines story at the margin but does not change the near-term focus on STELARA loss of exclusivity and ongoing talc litigation as the key swing factors for the stock.

TRex Bio, an anti-inflammatory drug developer backed by Eli Lilly, disclosed details of its upcoming U.S. listing, seeking to raise up to $133M on Nasdaq. In a Monday SEC filing, the San Francisco-based biotech said it intends to sell 8.3M shares at $14 to $16 each, which would raise $133.3M at the top of the range and value the company at $439.1M. TRex Bio expects roughly $128.7M in net proceeds, assuming underwriters fully exercise an option to buy up to 1.25M additional shares over 30 days. The company has pharmaceutical collaborations with Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, and its investor syndicate includes Pfizer Ventures, Janus Henderson, and Alexandria Ventures. Lilly has expressed interest in participating in the offering to keep its current 19.9% stake unchanged, TRex Bio said. Its lead assets, TRB-061 and TRB-071, target atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata, and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; topline Phase 1a/b data for TRB-061 are expected in mid-2027, while TRB-071 is set to enter a Phase 1 trial in the first half of 2027.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said its net income per diluted share will take a roughly $0.18 hit in the third quarter of 2026 from an R&D-related pre-tax charge of about $22 million, disclosed days after it announced an expanded collaboration with its French partner Sanofi. The acquired in-process research and development charge reflects asset acquisitions as well as upfront, milestone, and other payments paid on equity in connection with collaboration and licensing agreements. On Thursday, Regeneron and Sanofi agreed to expand their long-standing collaboration in a deal worth up to $8 billion, including $1 billion paid to the U.S. drugmaker to develop and commercialize four long-acting immunology therapies. The sixth amendment to the 2009 deal also requires the companies to share global profits on newly licensed products equally and Regeneron to drop a lawsuit against the Paris-based pharma giant.