Tessera

Several epidemiology studies suggest that #shingles vaccines can reduce the risk of #Alzheimers. Now GSK is running a 33,600-person clinical trial to see if its #Shingrix vaccine can prevent dementia. Read more in my latest for @endpts.com: endpoints.news/gsk-plans-la... #AAIC26

Can the shingles vaccine prevent Alzheimer’s? GSK has a big study to find out

GSK has launched a 33,600-person Finland trial of Shingrix to test if shingles vaccine reduces dementia risk in those 76+.

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Two years ago, Betty Tijms discovered five distinct subtypes of #Alzheimers disease based on proteins found in spinal fluid. At #AAIC26, she told me its time for drugmakers to stop treating Alzheimer’s as a single disease. Read more in my Q&A in @endpts: endpoints.news/qa-betty-tij...

Q&A: Betty Tijms says it’s time to stop treating Alzheimer’s as a single disease

We interview Betty Tijms of Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, who has identified 5 Alzheimer's subtypes and urges drugmakers to treat the condition as multiple diseases for better trials.

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Q&A: Betty Tijms says it’s time to stop treating Alzheimer’s as a single disease

We interview Betty Tijms of Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, who has identified 5 Alzheimer's subtypes and urges drugmakers to treat the condition as multiple diseases for better trials.

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Nava Therapeutics, a startup led by former Spark Therapeutics science leader Federico Mingozzi, has emerged from stealth with $89 million to develop in vivo CAR-T therapies, plus LNPs that target the kidney. My exclusive for @endpts.com has the details: endpoints.news/nava-therape...

Exclusive: Lipid nanoparticle startup Nava emerges with $89M to target T cells and kidney

Nava Therapeutics discloses it has raised $89M as it targets in vivo CAR-T and kidney delivery with novel lipid nanoparticles.

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Ryan Cross @scienceboss.bsky.social · 4w ago

Biogen's experimental Alzheimer's drug diranersen, which shuts down the production of tau, had mixed results in a Phase 2 study, with the lowest dose unexpectedly showing the greatest effect. My latest for @endpts.com digs into the data presented at #AAIC26. endpoints.news/biogens-tau-...

Questions linger over Biogen's tau drug for Alzheimer's, as low dose reports better results

Biogen's tau-lowering diranersen slows Alzheimer's decline 26% at the lowest dose in Phase 2, but an inverse dose response and a missed endpoint cloud the data.

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ARPA-H has awarded 7 groups of scientists up to $160M total, over 5 years, to each develop multiple gene editing therapies and bring them to clinical testing. That's a tall order on a tight budget, and some scientists say its not enough. More in @endpts.com: endpoints.news/arpa-h-bookm...

ARPA-H bookmarks $160M for custom gene editing treatments. Is it enough?

ARPA-H taps 7 teams for up to $160M to build bespoke gene editing drugs, betting on Baby KJ's playbook — but some scientists say funding falls short.

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Ryan Cross @scienceboss.bsky.social · last mo.

When we evaluate biotech startups for inclusion in our annual Endpoints 11 list, we look for companies that are swinging for the fences with cutting-edge science, where success or failure will make a big dent. Nominations open until July 15: endpoints.news/nominations-...

Nominations are open for the 2026 Endpoints 11 awards — submit by July 15

Endpoints opens nominations for its 2026 Endpoints 11 awards; submit standout private biotech startups by July 14 ahead of the Sept. 24 gala dinner.

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Ryan Cross @scienceboss.bsky.social · last mo.

I'll be in London covering the #Alzheimers conference #AAIC26 for @endpts.com in less than two weeks. Send me a note if you'll be there and are presenting new data!

Spot Bio has raised $40M to deliver genetic instructions for full-length dystrophin (the big muscle protein that's broken or missing in muscular dystrophy) with natural nanoparticles known as extracellular vesicles. My latest for @endpts.com has the details: endpoints.news/spot-bio-lau...

Exclusive: Spot Bio launches with $40M to study mRNA therapy for muscular dystrophy

Spot Biosystems emerges from stealth with $40M raised, reporting early human data showing dystrophin restoration in two children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

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Kopra Bio is planning a trial in China to test a genetically engineered virus that helps expose brain tumors by releasing an inflammatory molecule that recruits immune cells. Read more about the approach and the company in my latest for @endpts.com endpoints.news/ucsf-spinout...

Exclusive: UCSF spinout nets $9.1M to test virus therapy for brain cancer in China

UCSF spinout Kopra Bio has raised $9.1M to inject a genetically engineered virus into glioblastoma patients in a China trial.

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Lilly is partnering with Ascidian to develop RNA "exon editing" therapies for genetic kidney diseases (an interesting drug delivery challenge!) It's at least the 6th deal Lilly has struck in just over a week, reaching a total deal value of $10B. More in @endpts.com : endpoints.news/lilly-strike...

Lilly strikes Ascidian deal worth up to $1.9B for RNA editing in kidney diseases

Last month, Ascidian Therapeutics presented the first data suggesting a new way to fix broken genes may be safe in people. Now Eli Lilly has struck a deal with the startup.

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The @alleninstitute.org, long known for its focus on simply trying to understand how the brain works, is launching a $200 million initiative to translate its knowledge into drug development for neurodegenerative diseases. My story for @endpts.com has the details: endpoints.news/allen-instit...

Allen Institute launches $200M effort to turn brain atlas lessons into medicines

The Allen Institute is launching a $200 million initiative to explore specific neurodegenerative diseases and even develop drugs for those conditions.

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Tune Tx's CRISPR-based epigenetic editing shows promise against chronic hepatitis B infections, and the company says its on track for a cure. I explain the novel technology and break down the company's biomarker data in my latest story for @endpts.com : endpoints.news/epigenetic-e...

Epigenetic editing shows promise against chronic hep B infections

Tune Therapeutics' new method of CRISPR-based gene editing shows promise in curtailing chronic hepatitis B infections.

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At a time when most US gene editing companies have trimmed their pipelines, China-based YolTech Tx has brought six CRISPR therapies into the clinic. Now they've raised $70M to ramp up trials in China and the US. Read more in my exclusive for @endpts.com: endpoints.news/china-gene-e...

Exclusive: China gene editing startup YolTech raises $70M to move CRISPR therapies forward

Yoltech Therapeutics, one of China’s most prolific gene editing companies has raised its biggest round of funding ahead of plans to go public in Hong Kong.

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New York City-based Waypoint Bio has raised a $20 million series A to run three CAR-T trials (investigator initiated trials) in China, with a focus on solid tumors (including some in vivo approaches). My latest for @endpts.com has the details: endpoints.news/waypoint-bio...

Exclusive: Waypoint Bio raises $20M to run three CAR-T trials in China

New York City-based startup Waypoint Bio has raised $20 million in series A financing to test multiple cell therapies in China.

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It's been a busy week at #ASGCT2026. In my "Dispatch," I wrote about how an vivo CAR-T overload, about two startups working on CRISPR therapies for Alzheimer's, and about a missed opportunity to ask hard questions of the FDA. Read more in @endpts.com: endpoints.news/asgct-dispat...

ASGCT dispatch: In vivo CAR-T is everywhere

It’s a crucial moment for the cell and gene therapy field. At the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy’s annual meeting, several trends emerged: In vivo CAR-T is everywhere, CRISPR comes for Alzhei...

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First news from #ASGCT2026 this morning. Flagship startup Serif Biomedicines has presented its first preclinical data in rodents and monkeys suggesting that it has solved two key technical challenges in non-viral gene therapy. Read more in @endpts.com: endpoints.news/flagship-sta...

Flagship startup says it has solved non-viral gene therapy in monkeys, but details remain murky

Serif Biomedicines, a startup launched last month by Flagship Pioneering, believes it has solved two technical challenges that have long prevented gene therapy from being delivered without troublesome...

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Greetings from #ASGCT2026 in Boston. The cell and gene therapy space may still be struggling for funding, but the science remains exciting. I'll be on the ground all week bringing you the latest news for @endpts.com. Lots to come, stay tuned!

European regulators greenlight Fractyl Health's clinical test of the first ever GLP-1 gene therapy. Read more in my exclusive interview in @endpts: endpoints.news/european-reg...

European regulators greenlight first clinical test of GLP-1 gene therapy

Drug developers are racing to develop gene therapies that could replace chronic GLP-1 injections and pills with a one-and-done treatment. Now a company based just outside of Boston is poised to become...

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Two former Orbital Therapeutics scientists have launched a new #mRNA therapy startup to bring the durability of circular RNA into the old-fashioned and easier-to-make linear mRNA. Read more in my exclusive for @endpts.com: endpoints.news/former-orbit...

Exclusive: Startup aims to lift mRNA out of purgatory with more durable therapies

Two scientists think they've solved a technical problem that has kept the mRNA revolution from reaching its full potential.

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Scientists trying to understand why cancer immunotherapy works so well for some patients and not others have found a potential answer in one cancer survivor’s poop. Read more about the microbiome startup Kanvas Bio in my latest for @endpts.com : endpoints.news/microbiome-s...

Exclusive: One cancer survivor's super poop is behind microbiome startup's $48M raise

A biotech startup has studied a cancer survivor’s stool and identified about 50 strains of bacteria that collectively seemed to create the right conditions to help immunotherapy cure her advanced colo...

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#Recombinase based gene editing was barely on anyone's radar a year ago. Now several startups are working on it, and @elilillyandcompany.bsky.social has partnerships with 2 of them (Profluent and Seamless) and has invested in a third (Stylus). More in @endpts.com: endpoints.news/lilly-strike...

Lilly strikes second partnership this year for recombinase-based gene editing

A new generation of scientists is trying to revitalize recombinase gene editing by using AI to create bespoke enzymes that can target specific spots in the human genome. And Eli Lilly is buying into t...

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UC Berkeley startup Addition Therapeutics is betting that a new gene editing tech based on jumping genes (retrotransposons) will be key to making a safe, redoseable and reversible GLP-1 gene therapy. I explore the idea in my latest exclusive for @endpts.com: endpoints.news/exclusive-uc...

Exclusive: UC Berkeley startup bets on jumping genes for GLP-1 gene therapy

Addition Therapeutics is working on a genetic medicine that would turn a patient’s liver cells into little factories to permanently pump out their own weight loss drugs, the startup told Endpoints New...

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Big day for #CRISPR. Almost 14 years after the gene editing technology was first published, @intelliatx.bsky.social's CRISPR therapy has succeeded in the first Phase 3 trial of in vivo editing (inside the body), putting them on path to approval in 2027. @endpts.com - endpoints.news/intellias-in...

Intellia's in vivo CRISPR therapy first to succeed in Phase 3

An experimental treatment that uses CRISPR to edit genes directly inside the body has just succeeded in a Phase 3 trial, a first for the technology that puts it on track for a potential FDA approval i...

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Three gene therapy pioneers—Jean Bennett, Albert Maguire and Katherine High—just won the Breakthrough Prize. I talked to them about the long, winding road to Luxturna and the struggle to parlay that singular success into more therapies for retinal diseases. @endpts.com endpoints.news/three-gene-t...

Three gene therapy pioneers just won the Breakthrough Prize. This is their story

A trio of scientists behind the first gene therapy approved in the United States, Jean Bennett, Albert Maguire and Katherine High, have been awarded a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. It’s arguabl...

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A new Cochrane review dismissing #amyloid drugs has drawn immediate backlash. My story for @endpts.com covers the latest #Alzheimers controversy and examines why past drugs failed and why there's still hope for newer experimental amyloid antibodies. endpoints.news/cochrane-rev...

Cochrane review dismissing amyloid drugs draws immediate backlash

A new report trying to settle a decades-old debate about Alzheimer’s disease has reached a dramatic conclusion: antibody drugs that target sticky amyloid beta proteins in the brain simply don’t work. ...

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Endpoints Discovery Day is here, starting at 11:00 AM ET. We've got a fantastic lineup spanning gene editing, AI agents, and drug delivery tech for the brain. You can watch online for free by registering here: events.endpoints.news/drugday26 @endpts.com

ENDPOINTS Drug Discovery Day 2026

Every blockbuster new drug starts as hundreds of hours in the lab and behind the computer screen. Join us to get a window into that painstaking, sometimes painful process. What mechanisms are getting ...

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We've got a great lineup for Endpoints Drug Discovery day tomorrow (Wed. April 15). We'll be covering gene editing "beyond CRISPR," AI agents in the lab, drug delivery tech that promises to revolutionize Alzheimer's treatments and more. Sign up here: events.endpoints.news/drugday26

ENDPOINTS Drug Discovery Day 2026

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"The moment that you don’t do something for fear of becoming political is the moment that you’ve become political yourself," Karen Knudsen told me. "And if mRNA vaccine technology is the way to prevent cancer recurrence, I think it will be warmly embraced." endpoints.news/parker-insti...

Parker Institute doubles down on cancer vaccines as part of ongoing reboot

At a moment when many drug developers are shying away from politically-charged mRNA vaccines, the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy is doubling down on the technology’s promise to treat and pr...

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