Eli Lilly’s hunt for obesity targets has led it to the dark genome. The Big Pharma has put together a deal worth up to $1 billion in biobucks to partner with Haya Therapeutics to find multiple regulatory-genome-derived RNA-based drug targets.

Aelis Farma’s hopes of securing a quick, positive decision on a $100 million option payment have gone up in smoke. The French biotech reported the failure of its phase 2b cannabis use disorder (CUD) study Wednesday, prompting its partner Indivior to say it doesn’t currently expect to exercise its option.

Recursion has stumbled through an early test of its tech-enabled approach to drug discovery, reporting a hit on its phase 2 primary endpoint of safety and tolerability but failing to wow on the efficacy front.

Call it a case of good chemistry: Acepodia, a biotech based on Nobel Prize-winning science, is entering into a new partnership with Pfizer’s Ignite program to support development of the biotech’s unique cell immunotherapies.

France-based clinical research company Aixial Group is consolidating clinical data from one of its business units into Medidata’s digital platform, according to a Sept. 3 release.

After escaping a clinical hold several years back, Dyne Therapeutics has revealed new phase 1/2 data for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) therapy DYNE-251. The readout notes several serious treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), including acute kidney injury.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has shown its hand ahead of a potential showdown with Ionis, publishing phase 3 data on a rare metabolic disease treatment that is racing toward regulators.

Sanofi is still set on taking its multiple sclerosis (MS) med tolebrutinib to the FDA, executives have told Fierce Biotech, despite the BTK inhibitor falling short in two of three phase 3 trials that read out Monday.

Bayer suspended the phase 3 trial for its factor XIa inhibitor asundexian late last year after the drug showed “inferior efficacy” at preventing strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation compared to Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer’s Eliquis. The full picture of what that “inferior efficacy” looks like has now come into focus: Patients receiving asundexian actually suffered strokes or systemic embolisms at a higher rate than those receiving Eliquis.

Many microbes are extremophiles, capable of surviving conditions that would spell instant death for you and me. From deep-sea hydrothermal vents to boiling hot springs, these single-celled creatures have evolved special tools to help them thrive in tough places. Researchers have long wanted to harness these tools for human applications.