|
|
|
M Tue W Th F |
8 July, 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We've got a couple of long reads for you this morning. The first one comes from Andrew Dunn, with his annual review of the highest-paid CEOs in biopharma. Meanwhile, Ryan Cross has a story on a biotech called Centivax and its mission to develop a universal flu vaccine with
its mRNA tech. Read more below. |
|
Reynald Castaneda |
Deputy Editor, Endpoints News
|
|
|
|
 |
|
by Andrew Dunn
|
The typical CEO of a public biopharma company made $4.73 million in 2024, a 40% jump from last year’s median figure. But a handful of CEOs hauled in much larger paydays. Endpoints News compiled data on pay packages for 475 CEOs at life sciences companies as part of our annual pay analysis. These companies range from multinational drug
giants to tiny preclinical startups. Though median pay came in at $4.73 million, the average pay for CEOs was $6.56 million — driven higher by those few extra large pay packages. At the high end, 20 CEOs brought in compensation packages worth over $20 million. Most of that pay is from stock options or shares that vest over time or require companies to hit certain milestones. |
|
|
|
|
by Ryan Cross
|
It’s not an easy time to raise money for vaccine development, especially shots that rely on mRNA technology. But against all odds, one startup has cinched $45 million to begin testing an experimental universal flu vaccine next year, Endpoints News has learned. The company, called Centivax, designed a vaccine that contains a
whopping 22 different mRNA molecules encoding proteins from flu strains spanning the past century. The South San Francisco-based company claims animal studies show that the immune system can spot the commonalities between the strains and focus its attack on the tidbits of the virus that are unlikely to change from season to season. |
|
|
|
|
by Max Gelman
|
Kidney disease drug developer ProKidney vaulted above $1 per share this morning, despite mixed open-label Phase 2 data. The company is studying whether its lead program, a cell therapy called rilparencel, can treat patients with chronic kidney disease, diabetes and low kidney function as measured by eGFR levels. The Phase 2 trial is being used to
support the pivotal Phase 3 program, where one study is planned and the other was discontinued last year. In the Phase 2, rilparencel stabilized kidney function in 24 patients who received two injections by a statistically significant margin. These patients’ “eGFR slope” declined by 78% after one year. But a second group of 25 patients who only received one dose did not achieve a statistically significant
benefit (p=0.085), and their eGFR slope declined by 50%. |
|
|
|
|
 |
Masoud Toloue, Quanterix CEO |
|
by Jared Whitlock
|
Quanterix has completed its acquisition of Akoya Biosciences, following interest from a third-party bidder who threatened to torpedo the deal that has a total enterprise value of $127 million. The transaction was first announced in January. But in May, Akoya announced that it was considering an unsolicited, all-cash buyout
offer it received from an undisclosed third party. Akoya did not respond to a request for comment on why Quanterix was preferred. The transaction is creating what the companies call a fully integrated platform for detecting protein biomarkers in both tissue and blood. That capability, Quanterix CEO Masoud Toloue said in an interview, seeks to change how diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are diagnosed, monitored and treated. |
|
|
|
|