Immatics has vaulted into phase 3 on the strength of early-stage data. The biotech is gearing up to start a pivotal trial of its melanoma cell therapy IMA203 this year in light of the response and progression-free survival (PFS) results seen in a phase 1b study.

Some six years after picking up Seattle’s Universal Cells for $102 million, Astellas Pharma is opening a second location for the subsidiary in its home country of Japan—and transferring a dozen roles along the way.

Finnish biotech Orion has spied potential in Aitia’s “digital twin” tech to develop new cancer drugs.

While Windtree Therapeutics has struggled to grow the financial roots needed to survive, a phase 2 win for the biotech’s lead asset will at least give the company encouragement to persevere.

An attempt by Merck & Co. to unlock the microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer market has ended in failure. The drugmaker found a fixed-dose combination of Keytruda and an anti-LAG-3 antibody failed to improve overall survival, extending the wait for a checkpoint inhibitor that moves the needle in the indication.

Health tech company PicnicHealth is launching a new program that lets researchers conduct clinical trials in cyberspace. Virtual Site is meant to help clinical trial sponsors conduct observational studies without the need for a physical location.

Roche is rolling out what it describes as a new type of infectious disease diagnostic in Europe, with a single test capable of screening for up to 12 of the most common respiratory viruses at once.

Listening to music while working may one day become a two-way street. Neurable is putting forward a pair of headphones equipped with sensors to measure mental activity—in what it describes as the first brain-computer interface of its kind aimed at the general consumer.

Italian biotech Aptadir Therapeutics has launched with the promise that its pipeline of preclinical RNA inhibitors could crack intractable cancers.

Recently debuted Metsera is unfolding some phase 1 data for its GLP-1 receptor agonist, revealing a 7.5% reduction in body weight compared to baseline at 36 days.