Evotec SEEVT
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance
Evotec SE is a joint funder of Italy's National Technology Transfer Hub, which participated as a follow-on investor in Aptadir's EUR 40M Seed round.
Impact on assets 2
Health Care
Evotec SEAging Population
Theme Impact 2
Off-coverage companies 10
Aptadir TherapeuticsPrivate▲ Positive
Capitalrelevance
Aptadir Therapeutics closed a EUR 40M Seed round led by 4BIO Capital to advance its RNA inhibitor-based therapeutics pipeline.
4BIO CapitalPrivate± Mixed
relevance
Angelini VenturesPrivate± Mixed
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CDP Venture CapitalPrivate± Mixed
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Club degli InvestitoriPrivate± Mixed
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EXTENDPrivate± Mixed
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Indaco Venture Partners SGRPrivate± Mixed
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Italian Angels for BiotechPrivate± Mixed
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Kerna VenturesPrivate± Mixed
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XGEN VenturePrivate± Mixed
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Related news
Switzerland
China▲3impact 4
Novartis Signs $7.8B RNA Therapeutics Deal With Abogen Biosciences
Novartis entered a licensing and option agreement with China-based Abogen Biosciences, giving the Swiss pharma giant exclusive worldwide rights to Abogen's lead candidate ABO2203 and options to license additional programs built on Abogen's proprietary RNA platform. Under the agreement, Abogen will receive an upfront payment of $575 million and is eligible to receive up to approximately $7.2 billion in potential milestone payments if all options covering additional programs are exercised and the specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones are achieved, plus royalties on future product sales. ABO2203 is an investigational messenger RNA-encoded CD19xCD3 T-cell engager being developed for autoimmune diseases, designed to reset B cells by directing endogenous production of T-cell engagers in vivo. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including required regulatory clearances. The deal comes as Novartis faces generic competition for Entresto and Promacta and back-to-back pipeline setbacks, including the late-stage failure of pelacarsen and the HARBOR study of del-desiran in myotonic dystrophy type 1.
About megatrends
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics ▲Capital
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › mRNA Platforms ▲Capital
NOVN.SW · Capital · Positive Novartis signs $7.8B licensing/option deal with Abogen for RNA therapeutics, adding pipeline assets amid generic competition and pipeline setbacks
Abogen Biosciences · Capital · Positive Abogen receives $575M upfront and up to ~$7.2B in milestones plus royalties under the Novartis licensing and option agreement
United StatesChina
Denmark
France▼
Sanofi, Novartis and Novo Nordisk Lead Week of Multi-Billion-Dollar Healthcare Deals
A Delaware federal judge on Monday rejected requests from Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna to dismiss lawsuits filed by Bayer's Monsanto unit over their use of US Patent No. 7,741,118, a patent related to mRNA technology, with Judge William Bryson saying the companies failed to prove the patent was invalid or not infringed by their COVID-19 vaccines. Sanofi agreed to a deal worth up to $8B, including $1B upfront, with Regeneron to jointly develop four long-acting immunology therapies, led by the clinical-stage IL-13 monoclonal antibody REGN20423. China's Abogen Biosciences signed a licensing and option agreement with Novartis worth up to $7.8B, comprising a $575 million upfront payment and up to approximately $7.2 billion in potential milestone payments if all options on all programs are exercised, covering an exclusive worldwide license to Abogen's lead asset ABO2203. Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals agreed to license global rights to its experimental obesity drug HRS-1596 to Novo Nordisk in a deal worth up to $2.6B, with $300M upfront and the transaction expected to close in Q4 2026. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Health Care Sector Index slipped 2.66% for the week, with Incyte down 6.93% and Regeneron down 6.71% among the top decliners, while McKesson rose 4.11% and Cardinal Health gained 3.67%.
About megatrends
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics ▼Capital
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › mRNA Platforms ▼Capital
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › Autoimmune & Immunology Therapeutics ▲Capital
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › Metabolic, Diabetes & Obesity ▲Capital
NOVN.SW · Demand · Positive Novartis signed a licensing and option agreement with Abogen worth up to $7.8B covering ABO2203.
SAN.PA · Demand · Positive Sanofi agreed to an up-to-$8B deal with Regeneron to jointly develop four long-acting immunology therapies.
Abogen Biosciences · Demand · Positive Abogen Biosciences licensed its lead asset ABO2203 to Novartis in a deal worth up to $7.8B.
22UA.XETRA · Regulation · Negative Delaware judge rejected BioNTech's motion to dismiss Monsanto's mRNA patent lawsuits over its COVID-19 vaccine.
600276.CG · Demand · Positive Hengrui licensed global rights to its obesity drug HRS-1596 to Novo Nordisk for up to $2.6B, with $300M upfront.
MRNA · Regulation · Negative Delaware judge rejected Moderna's motion to dismiss Monsanto's mRNA patent infringement lawsuits over its COVID-19 vaccine.
United States
Canada
United Kingdom▼
HSBC Upgrades Target, Citi Downgrades Moderna in Week of Analyst Calls
Wall Street analysts issued a slew of rating changes this week, led by HSBC's upgrade of Target to Buy from Hold with a price target raised to $190 from $125, citing a turnaround "gaining momentum." Citi downgraded Moderna to Sell from Neutral, calling the valuation "unjustifiable" after the biotech rallied more than 222% since a Phase 3 win for its personalized cancer shot intismeran autogene, and cut its price target to $60 from $80. Deutsche Bank downgraded PepsiCo to Hold from Buy, while Goldman Sachs upgraded Occidental Petroleum to Buy from Neutral with a $69 price target, up from $63, and double-downgraded Tourmaline Oil to Sell from Buy with a C$49 target, cut from C$59. Wells Fargo upgraded Consolidated Edison to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $118 target and BP to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $57 target, while downgrading ExxonMobil to Equal Weight from Overweight with an unchanged $182 target. Morgan Stanley reinstated Nvidia as its top pick in the semiconductor space.
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Biotech & Genomic Medicine › mRNA Platforms ▼Capital
United StatesWells Fargo Starts Design Therapeutics at Overweight on Friedreich Ataxia Program
Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Design Therapeutics with an overweight rating, citing the company's Friedreich ataxia candidate DT-216P2 as having potentially best-in-disease functional improvement based on results from the RESTORE-FA study released in May. The bank set a $26 price target, implying roughly 112% upside based on the October 1 close. Analyst TianQi Hang wrote that the May update showed pharmacokinetics look good, and that blood-FXN protein, muscle-mRNA data, plus an early mFARS signal further de-risk the platform. Hang estimates that the blood FXN protein increase seen after 6 weeks can translate to at least a 2-point mFARS change, and said that if the drug kinetics sustain for 12 weeks, which he believes they will, DT-216P2 could deliver best-in-disease functional benefits. He assigns DT-216P2 a 60% probability of success, with peak sales of approximately $600M in the US and approximately $900M outside it. If approved, DT-216P2 would compete against Biogen's Skyclarys, also known as omaveloxolone, and Hang sees it gaining a peak share of the FA treatment market of 30% in the US and 20% ex-US.
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Biotech & Genomic Medicine › Rare Disease ▲Competition
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › Neuroscience & Neurodegenerative ▲Competition
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNAi / Antisense Oligonucleotides Competition
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics ▲Competition
United States▲
Nasdaq 100 to Add Moderna, Replacing Warner Bros. Discovery, Effective Oct. 9
Nasdaq announced yesterday that shares of Moderna, the vaccine maker, will replace Warner Bros. Discovery in the Nasdaq 100 index, effective Oct. 9. The change follows a more than sixfold surge in Moderna's share price this year, giving the company a market value of about 75 billion dollars. Conversely, Warner Bros. Discovery will also be removed from the indexes of major index providers MSCI and S&P, as its merger with Paramount Skydance is expected to be completed on Oct. 6, after the process was delayed for many months.
About megatrends
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › mRNA Platforms ▲Capital
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics ▲Capital
MRNA · Capital · Positive Moderna will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index, effective Oct. 9, following a sixfold share-price surge.
WBD · Capital · Negative Warner Bros. Discovery will be removed from the Nasdaq 100, MSCI, and S&P indexes as its merger with Paramount Skydance nears completion.
PSKY · Capital · Neutral Paramount Skydance's merger with Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to complete Oct. 6, but the article does not state the impact on Paramount.
United States▲3
Moderna to Join Nasdaq-100, Replacing Warner Bros. Discovery
Nasdaq said Thursday that Moderna will become a component of the Nasdaq-100 Index, replacing Warner Bros. Discovery before market open on Friday, October 9. The vaccine maker's shares have jumped more than sixfold this year to a valuation of roughly $75B. Warner Bros. Discovery is also set to be removed from major indexes, including those tracked by MSCI and S&P, as its merger with Paramount Skydance is expected to close on October 6 following a months-long delay.
About megatrends
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › mRNA Platforms ▲Capital
Biotech & Genomic Medicine › RNA Therapeutics ▲Capital
MRNA · Capital · Positive Moderna will join the Nasdaq-100 Index, replacing Warner Bros. Discovery, an index-inclusion event.
WBD · Capital · Negative Warner Bros. Discovery is being removed from the Nasdaq-100 and other major indexes ahead of its merger with Paramount Skydance.