EuroBiotech Report: GSK spinout raises £23M, Tiziana gets drug for NASH combo and Protalix posts phase 2 CF data

Welcome to the first EuroBiotech Report of 2017. We start this shortened edition in Britain, where GlaxoSmithKline spinout NeRRe Therapeutics raised £23 million ($28 million). The cash will allow NeRRe to take two neurokinin receptor antagonists to phase 2 data readouts. Fellow British biotech Tiziana Life Sciences was also in the news. Tiziana started 2017 by licensing an anti-interleukin-6 receptor drug from Novimmune that it sees as complementary to its existing NASH candidate. Protalix BioTherapeutics posted an interim look at data from a phase 2 trial of its cystic fibrosis candidate. And more. Nick Taylor

1. GSK spinout bags £23M to take NK antagonists into phase 2

NeRRe Therapeutics has raised £23 million ($28 million) in a Series B backed by new investors Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners and OrbiMed. The GlaxoSmithKline spinout will use the money to take two neurokinin receptor antagonists to phase 2 data readouts.

2. Tiziana plots NASH combo after buying Novimmune asset

Tiziana Life Sciences has licensed an anti-interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) drug from Novimmune. The British biotech sees the monoclonal antibody as complementary to foralumab, a NASH candidate it picked up from Novimmune two years ago.

3. Protalix talks up CF prospects in interim phase 2 data drop

Protalix BioTherapeutics has posted an interim look at data from a small phase 2 trial of its cystic fibrosis candidate. The Israeli biotech used the update to talk up areas in which the data compare favorably to results generated by Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ CFTR modulator on its path to approval.

And more articles of note>>