👋 Good morning! When Genenta Science rang the Nasdaq bell in late 2021, the pitch was familiar biotech fare. Cell-based gene therapies. Oncology ambition. Milan-meets-modern-medicine vibes.

Fast forward four years and Genenta has decided the future is not gene therapy. It’s guns.

The company is rebranding as Saentra Forge, ditching its biotech identity to become a “strategic industrial consolidator” in national-security regulated sectors. Translation: less curing disease, more manufacturing firearms. Its first target is ATC, an Italian producer of tactical rifles and special-forces weapon systems authorized by Italy’s Ministry of Defense and used by elite military units. Genenta plans to fund the acquisition using the $33 million in cash it carried into 2026.

Just when you thought pharma’s public image might be turning a corner, someone decided to zig straight into weapons manufacturing. One can only imagine the boardroom pitch. “Hear me out. Instead of saving lives, we… don’t. Thoughts?”

Call it a response to market dynamics. Call it a strategic pivot. Or call it the most aggressive rebrand since Meta tried to make the metaverse happen. Either way, Genenta didn’t just change lanes. It drove off the biotech highway entirely.

🙌 Roche Touts 22.5% Weight Loss for Obesity Drug
Roche’s dual GLP-1/GIP agonist CT-388 delivered up to 22.5% weight loss at 48 weeks in a Phase 2 study, clearing the path for Phase 3 trials later this quarter. Nearly all patients on the highest dose lost more than 5% of body weight, and over a quarter dropped more than 30%. Notably, weight loss hadn’t plateaued by week 48. The reality check? Roche is still chasing Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo’s Wegovy, not leading them.

👂 Lilly Bets $1.12B on Gene Editing for Hearing Loss
Eli Lilly signed a deal worth up to $1.12 billion with Germany’s Seamless Therapeutics to develop gene-editing therapies for hearing loss. Seamless will use its recombinase platform to correct specific genetic mutations, while Lilly takes the reins on development and commercialization. It’s another signal that Lilly’s deal engine is humming. Hearing loss isn’t flashy, but it’s massive, underserved, and suddenly very strategic.

📝 Boehringer Drops €1.05B for a Preclinical IBD Contender
Boehringer Ingelheim inked a €1.05 billion ($1.26 billion) biobucks deal for Simcere’s preclinical IBD bispecific antibody targeting TL1A and IL-23p19. Early data suggests the asset outperformed combinations of monotherapies in animal models. Boehringer gets global rights outside China, while Simcere keeps its home turf. With IL-23 already proven blockbuster territory, Boehringer is buying optionality early.

⚖️ 15 Drugs Added to Medicare’s IRA Price Negotiation List
CMS unveiled the next 15 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. Analysts expect limited financial impact for most companies, with Gilead’s Biktarvy standing out as the biggest exposure. New prices won’t kick in until 2028, but the message is unmistakable. The negotiation machine is still running, whether pharma likes it or not.

💰 Halozyme Buys Surf Bio for $300M and Lifts 2026 Outlook 19%
Halozyme agreed to acquire Surf Bio for $300 million upfront plus $100 million in milestones, adding hyperconcentration delivery tech that enables high-dose auto-injectors. At the same time, Halozyme raised its 2026 revenue guidance by 19% at the midpoint. This isn’t opportunistic M&A. It’s infrastructure building for the biologics arms race.

🧬 FDA Halts Two Regenxbio Gene Therapies Days Before Approval
A CNS tumor triggered clinical holds on two programs, including one less than two weeks from an FDA decision, sending shares down 32%.

🤖 Insilico and Qilu Launch $120M AI Drug Discovery Pact
The collaboration targets cardiometabolic diseases using AI-designed small molecules.

🏭 Cellares Raises $257M to Fund Global Cell Therapy Expansion
The Series D will finance new manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands and Japan ahead of planned commercial production in 2027.

📈 Eikon Eyes $273M IPO
The oncology biotech plans to offer nearly 17.7 million shares at $17 a pop, positioning itself as the year’s second biotech IPO.

📺 Novo’s $500M Ad Blitz Puts It Far Ahead of Lilly
Novo Nordisk more than doubled Lilly’s U.S. ad spend for GLP-1 drugs as it fights to regain market share.

📉 Teva Signals First Revenue Dip in Years
After three straight growth years, Teva expects a downturn in 2026 despite its “Pivot to Growth” strategy.

🏴 China Suspends Sun Pharma Dementia Drug Over GMP Failures
Regulators halted imports after finding quality and contamination control deficiencies at an Indian manufacturing site.

💉 Pediatricians Break from CDC Vaccine Guidance
The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending vaccines protecting kids against 18 potentially life-threatening diseases compared to the 11 the CDC is recommending.

After nearly two decades of on-again, off-again talks, the EU and India finally shook hands on what they’re calling the largest free trade agreement either side has ever signed. Timing matters. With tariffs, trade wars, and geopolitical tension reshaping supply chains, this deal lands squarely in pharma’s blind spot.

At the heart of it is tariffs. India currently slaps an 11% duty on EU pharmaceutical imports, a tax that’s expected to mostly disappear over the next five to seven years. For Europe, that opens a massive and fast-growing drug market. For India, it’s about access, investment, and leverage in a world where relying too heavily on any single trading partner has become risky.

The agreement also tightens intellectual property alignment and grants EU companies privileged access to India’s services market. That’s a big deal for pharma companies that rely on IP clarity to manufacture, license, and expand. The EU exported roughly €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) in pharmaceuticals to India in 2024, and officials expect exports to double by 2032.

Zoom out and the geopolitics snap into focus. U.S. tariff threats, China dependency fears, and COVID-era supply chain trauma all pushed Europe and India toward each other. This isn’t just trade liberalization. It’s strategic positioning. Pharma manufacturing, API sourcing, and market access are now national security conversations.

The subtext? Washington is watching. Analysts believe the EU-India deal could light a fire under stalled U.S.-India trade talks. When two major blocs start tearing down barriers, everyone else has to decide whether to follow or fall behind. In pharma, standing still is rarely an option.

That’s how many STEM Ph.D.s have exited U.S. government roles since Trump took office. While it represents just 3% of total federal departures, it accounts for 14% of the government’s STEM Ph.D. workforce. At 14 major research agencies, departures outpaced hires by 11 to one. NIH took the hardest hit.

Here’s what biotech Redditors had to say this week:

👩‍🔬 Academia vs Industry Culture Clash
A Reddit thread asked what instantly flags a newcomer as “too academic” in industry. The top responses were blunt. People cited poor record-keeping, obsession with individual credit, and not understanding how decisions get made in applied science. Others noted the tendency to disappear down rabbit holes at the wrong time. Those who adapt thrive. Those who don’t earn reputations that follow them.

😬 STEM Exodus Meets Gallows Humor
Another thread reacted to the loss of 10,000 government Ph.D.s with dark jokes and frustration. One commenter deadpanned, “This is how we beat China.” Others joked about scientists pivoting to black-market peptide labs. Beneath the humor was resignation. It’s tough out there, and optimism is currently running on fumes.

🤖 OpenAI Launches Prism for Scientists
A new AI-powered scientific workspace aims to speed up writing, reviewing, and research collaboration.

🧠 Neuralink Hits 21 Human Trial Participants
Elon Musk’s brain implant company continues expanding trials for paralysis and spinal cord injuries.

❤️ Heart Attacks Get a Nervous System Rethink
New research suggests panicked neurons worsen cardiac damage, opening fresh drug target possibilities.

💉 Pfizer Tops Vaccine Rankings Again
Physicians kept Pfizer at number one while analysts flagged Sanofi as a “code red” situation.

🧪 Fortitude Biomedicines Reinvents the ADC Payload
Fortitude launched with $13 million to explore what happens when molecular glue degraders replace traditional ADC payloads. Its GLUE-DAC platform aims to merge precision targeting with catalytic protein degradation. Early days, big ambition, and a concept that could quietly reshape how ADCs are built.

🚬 January 29, 1998 — Big Tobacco Breaks the Lie
RJR Nabisco CEO Steven Goldstone became the first tobacco executive to admit under oath that smoking is addictive and causes cancer. The moment shattered years of industry denial and set the stage for the landmark Master Settlement Agreement later that year.

Biotechs are selling guns, governments are losing scientists, and trade deals are quietly reshaping medicine. Just another week in biotech.

That’s all for today. See you Tuesday for the next issue. 👋

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