EuroBiotech:​ ​More​ ​Articles​ ​of​ ​Note

> Relief Therapeutics formed a collaboration with FirstString Research to support U.S. development of atexakin alfa. The agreement tasks FirstString, a Mount Pleasant, SC-based biopharma, with securing financial support from the U.S. government, developing collaborations in the country and providing resources to support a NDA. Swiss biotech Relief picked up the drug, a low-dose formulation of recombinant human interleukin 6, from Merck KGaA last year. Release

> NeuroVive Pharmaceutical (STO:NVP) shuttered its subsidiary in Lyon, France. The Swedish biotech set up the subsidiary last year to build on its long-standing ties to Hospices Civils de Lyon and gave it a shot at landing a €10 million ($10.9 million) five-year stroke project. NeuroVive had hoped to grow its head count in Lyon beyond the small initial team, but the canning of CicloMulsion has prompted it to pull out of the city. Release

> Nicola Blackwood, one of the politicians responsible for the U.K. Office for Life Sciences, said the government will ensure Britain remains at the forefront of science after Brexit. Blackwood campaigned to stay in the European Union, but in her current role as one of three ministers filling the post left by George Freeman is responsible for ensuring Britain’s life sciences sector is insulated from potential negative consequences of Brexit. Politics Home

> A Phase II trial of ObsEva’s fertility drug OBE001 missed its primary endpoint. The clinical trial was designed to assess whether OBE001 increased the success rate of embryo transfer. ObsEva was unable to detect a statistically significant increase in the percentage of women who had a positive embryo heartbeat six weeks after the transfer. Even so, with ObsEva seeing a “meaningful increase,” it is set to advance into Phase III. ObsEva is planning a Nasdaq IPO. Release

> NeoTX Therapeutics licensed a cancer asset from Active Biotech (OMX:ACTI). The deal sees Israel’s NeoTX pay $250,000 upfront and commit to up to $71 million in milestones to secure worldwide rights to naptomumab estafenatox. NeoTX thinks the drug can help the immune system recognize tumors, opening the door for it to be used in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. A Phase II/III trial of naptumomab estafenatox missed its primary endpoint in 2013. Release

> Inositec raised seed financing to take a candidate through to preclinical proof of concept. The Swiss biotech is working on small-molecule drugs based on inositol hexaphosphate. Vascular calcification and Clostridium difficile infections are among the early targets of its work. VI Partners and Zürcher Kantonalbank participated in the round. Release