On June 30, 2026 Flare Therapeutics Inc. (FlareTx), a clinical-stage biotechnology company targeting transcription factors to discover and develop precision medicines, reported the closing of an $85 million Series C financing led by existing investors. In connection with the financing, the company also announced the appointment of Anna Protopapas as Chief Executive Officer.

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The financing was led by Third Rock Ventures and Nextech Invest and included participation from Pfizer Ventures, Boxer Capital, GordonMD Global Investments LP, Invus, Casdin Capital, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Agent Capital and Eventide Asset Management. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the Company’s prioritized programs, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Pipeline Prioritization

In connection with the financing, the Company has completed a strategic review of its pipeline and will concentrate resources on FX-111, a first-in-class, highly differentiated, potent and selective degrader targeting ARON, the transcriptionally active, hormone-bound androgen receptor for prostate cancer. By targeting ARON, FX-111 has the potential to overcome the key resistance mechanisms that limit conventional therapies directed at AROFF, particularly in high-risk AR-driven disease, with broad applicability across all stages of AR-driven disease. The Company received Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and expects to initiate clinical development in the third quarter of 2026. FlareTx is also advancing an ARON Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimeras (RIPTAC) program through preclinical development. This program complements FX-111 and further expands the Company’s ability to address prostate cancer across the full disease continuum.

"At Nextech, we focus capital where we see the strongest scientific and clinical conviction," said Kanishka Pothula, Managing Partner at Nextech Invest. "We believe FlareTx’s ARON-targeting approach is highly differentiated and has the potential to address important limitations of current prostate cancer therapies. This financing reflects our continued conviction in the team, the platform, and the potential of FX-111 to become an important therapy for patients with AR-driven prostate cancer."

"Our continued support of FlareTx into this next phase of growth is a testament to the differentiated transcription factor platform that has advanced novel programs into the clinic with potentially transformational impact to patients," said Abbie Celniker PhD, FlareTx founder and Partner at Third Rock Ventures. "We are also very pleased to welcome Anna Protopapas as incoming CEO. Her proven track record of leadership in oncology, spanning global development through commercialization, makes her exceptionally well suited to lead the Company."

FX-909, a first-in-class, orally available PPARG inhibitor targeting the luminal lineage biology underlying urothelial cancer, is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1B dose expansion study. The Company intends to advance this program through an external partnership to fully realize its potential, including opportunities to explore combination regimens and earlier lines of therapy where luminal lineage biology plays a defining role.

"This is an exciting time for Flare Therapeutics and for patients with prostate cancer who desperately need new options. FX-111 offers a new approach to targeting the androgen receptor pathway that has the potential to transform prostate cancer treatment across all stages of disease, while avoiding mechanisms of resistance, representing a genuinely differentiated opportunity," said Anna Protopapas, incoming Chief Executive Officer. "I am thrilled to lead a team that has proven it can advance a platform focused on drugging transcription factors and look forward to demonstrating that potential as we initiate our Phase 1A clinical study for FX-111 in the coming weeks."

CEO Appointment

Anna Protopapas joined the board of Flare Therapeutics in February 2025 and became Chair in September 2025. Most recently, Ms. Protopapas served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mersana Therapeutics from 2015 until September 2023, where she led advancement of the company’s ADC platforms and pipeline, transitioning the company to a publicly traded entity and raised significant capital through partnerships and equity financing. Prior to Mersana, Ms. Protopapas was President of Millennium, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda, where she led Takeda’s oncology business. Ms. Protopapas also served as Executive Vice President of Global Business Development at Takeda, where she led acquisitions and partnerships that helped catalyze Takeda’s growth and globalization. Earlier, Ms. Protopapas was an executive officer at Millennium and served in various senior leadership positions, playing an integral role in the company’s transformation from a genomics start-up to a fully integrated oncology leader and the subsequent acquisition of the company by Takeda. Ms. Protopapas has served as the Chair of the Board at Nuvalent since early 2022 (recently announced to be acquired by GSK for $10.6B) and previously served on the boards of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Takeda), Bioverativ (acquired by Sanofi) and Dicerna (acquired by Novo Nordisk) and Mersana Therapeutics (acquired by Day One). She received her B.S. in Science and Engineering from Princeton University, M.S. in Chemical Engineering Practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

(Press release, Flare Therapeutics, JUN 30, 2026, View Source [SID1234669028])

On June 30, 2026 Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, reported the first patient data from the concurrent BTK inhibitor (BTKi) cohort of its ongoing Phase 1b basket study of azer-cel (azercabtagene zapreleucel).

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This Follicular Lymphoma (FL) patient, who had previously failed BTKi therapy, achieved a complete response at the Day 28 assessment.

FL is the most common indolent B-cell lymphoma and, while many patients respond to initial treatment, it remains a high unmet need with standard therapies and most patients will relapse over time.

All patients enrolled in the concurrent BTKi cohort have relapsed on or are refractory to BTKi therapy, a standard treatment across multiple B-cell malignancies. Despite the established efficacy of BTK inhibitors, a significant proportion of patients develop resistance over time and are left with limited remaining options. This cohort evaluates whether concurrent dosing of azer-cel with a BTKi may restore or enhance therapeutic activity in this setting. The global BTKi market reached approximately US$12.0 billion in 2025.

Leslie Chong, Managing Director and CEO of Imugene, said, "This initial data provides further confidence in the potential of azer-cel in patients who have exhausted standard treatment options, including BTK inhibitors. Given how widely BTKi therapies are used, we believe this combination approach could represent a meaningful development pathway for azer-cel."

To date, four patients have been dosed in the concurrent BTKi combination cohort, including the first patient with mantle cell lymphoma. Further updates will be provided as additional data becomes available, and the dataset matures.

Azer-cel is an off-the-shelf, allogeneic CAR T cell therapy which targets CD19 to treat blood cancers. Azer-cel is derived from healthy donor T cells and ready for administration within days, without the three-to-six-week manufacturing lead time required for autologous CAR T products.

About the Phase 1b azer-cel trial

The azer-cel allogeneic CAR T trial is an ongoing, open-label, multi-centre Phase 1b clinical trial in the U.S. and Australia, for CAR T relapsed patients and CAR T naïve patients diagnosed with a broad range of Non-Hodgkins lymphomas including follicular lymphoma (FL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/ small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM), and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). The trial has most recently expanded into a concurrent BTKi cohort, for patients with a range of B-cell malignancies who have previously failed BTKi therapy. Treatment with azer-cel, lymphodepletion and IL-2 has produced meaningful clinical responses across multiple indications, including a complete response in the first evaluable patient from the BTKi combination cohort. Additionally, the safety profile is manageable and generally well tolerated.

(Press release, Imugene, JUN 30, 2026, View Source [SID1234668996])

On June 30, 2026 Ratio Therapeutics Inc. (Ratio), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company employing innovative technologies to develop best-in-class radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment, reported that it has entered into a strategic supply agreement with PanTera, an innovative producer scaling the supply of vital medical radionuclides, supporting Ratio’s ongoing efforts to build a robust and scalable supply infrastructure for its radiopharmaceutical development programs.

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The agreement provides Ratio with access to dedicated Ac-225 supply and establishes a framework for future expansion as the company’s development needs evolve. The agreement will support Ratio’s clinical-stage radiotherapeutic programs while further strengthening Ratio’s manufacturing and supply chain foundation required to advance targeted alpha therapies.

"Building a resilient and diversified supply network is an important component of our long-term strategy as we advance our radiopharmaceutical pipeline," said Matthias Friebe, Chief Development Officerof Ratio Therapeutics. "PanTera has emerged as an important contributor to the global Actinium-225 ecosystem, and this agreement reflects our commitment to establishing the infrastructure needed to support ongoing clinical development of our radiotherapies."

"We are honored to partner with Ratio Therapeutics to support the advancement of their innovative radiopharmaceutical pipeline," said Christophe Malice, CBO of PanTera. "Ratio’s targeted approach to treating cancer exemplifies the kind of clinical progress enabled by reliable Ac-225 supply. By providing dependable Ac-225, produced in compliance with cGMP, we are proud to help ensure that programs such as Ratio’s can advance without the supply constraints that have long challenged the field. This collaboration reflects PanTera’s commitment to supporting the pharmaceutical industry as it works to bring next-generation targeted therapeutics to patients in need."

As demand for targeted alpha therapies continues to increase across the industry, reliable access to critical radioisotopes such as Ac-225 has become increasingly important. Through strategic collaborations with leading suppliers and manufacturing partners, Ratio continues to strengthen the supply chain necessary to support the development of its therapeutic candidates.

(Press release, Ratio Therapeutics, JUN 30, 2026, View Source [SID1234669013])

On June 30, 2026 Zelluna (OSE: ZLNA), a company pioneering allogeneic "off-the-shelf" T Cell Receptor-based Natural Killer (TCR-NK) cell therapies for the treatment of solid cancers, reported that the Research Council of Norway has approved a grant of NOK 16 million to Zelluna under the Innovation Project for the Industrial Sector (IPN) scheme.

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NOK 16 million grant awarded by the Research Council of Norway
Funding will support Zelluna’s ongoing Phase 1 clinical study, ZIMA-101
The IPN scheme supports research-driven innovation projects in Norwegian industry and is administered by the Research Council of Norway
Award subject to final contract negotiations with the Research Council of Norway
"We are delighted to receive this support from the Research Council of Norway. The award provides meaningful funding for our Phase 1 clinical programme and represents strong external recognition of the innovation underpinning our TCR-NK platform and its potential to address significant unmet needs for patients with solid cancers," said Namir Hassan, CEO of Zelluna.

(Press release, Zelluna Immunotherapy, JUN 30, 2026, View Source [SID1234669029])

On June 30,2026 Vect-Horus, a privately held biotechnology company that designs and develops molecular vectors facilitating the targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules and imaging agents, reported a research evaluation and exclusive license option agreement with Servier, an independent international pharmaceutical group governed by a foundation. This collaboration aims to develop targeted oligonucleotide therapeutics for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases.

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Under the agreement, Vect-Horus will leverage its proprietary VECTrans technology platform to facilitate the transport of Servier’s oligonucleotide therapeutics across biological barriers to the brain, addressing one of the key challenges in the treatment of neurological disorders.

"We are very pleased to enter into this collaboration with Servier, a global pharmaceutical company with a strong commitment to innovation and patient-focused research," said Alexandre Tokay, co-founder and CEO of Vect-Horus. "This agreement further validates the potential of our VECTrans platform to overcome delivery challenges in the CNS and expand therapeutic opportunities for patients suffering from serious neurological diseases."

Vect-Horus and Servier will conduct the research evaluation activities jointly during an initial option period. Following this evaluation phase, Servier will have the exclusive option to advance selected compounds into clinical development and commercialization.

"Progress in rare neurological disorders depends on bringing together complementary expertise and a shared sense of purpose," said Nitza Thomasson, Global Head of Neurology at Servier. "We are excited to work alongside Vect-Horus to unlock the potential of this technology and help advance transformative oligonucleotide therapies for patients."

Vect-Horus will receive research and exclusivity fees during the option period. Upon exercise of the option, Vect-Horus will be eligible to receive an upfront payment, as well as development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. In addition, the company will be entitled to single-digit royalties on annual net product sales of any resulting commercialized products.

(Press release, Vect-Horus, JUN 30, 2026, View Source [SID1234669014])