COMPANIES TO WATCH

  • Athira Pharma is developing small molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, including its lead candidate, fosgonimeton, for Alzheimer's disease.

  • Volastra Therapeutics is a drug discovery and development leader in the emerging field of chromosomal instability, a phenomenon that can determine how certain solid tumor cancer cells replicate and grow.

  • OSE Immunotherapeutics is poised to begin a confirmatory and pivotal Phase 3 trial for a novel cancer vaccine targeting the second line in NSCLC, an area of acute unmet need.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW

  • Where Are They Now? Carisma Therapeutics

    In three years, Carisma Therapeutics has gone public, entered a broad collaboration with Moderna, and ceased development of its original CAR-Macrophage candidate, in favor of CAR-Monocyte therapies. Carisma expects to release CT-0525 Phase 1 data by the end of 2024.

  • Where Are They Now? Caribou Biosciences

    Caribou Biosciences is gunning for a Phase 3 pivotal trial start in 2025 for lead candidate CB-010, after cutting its CAR-NK preclinical activities to focus exclusively on developing CB-010 and two additional allogeneic CAR-T therapies.

  • Where Are They Now? Otsuka

    Otsuka Precision Health, a new subsidiary focused on digital therapeutics and other tech-enabled solutions for patients, is a continuation of the company's broader mission described by an Otsuka executive in the pages of Life Science Leader eight years ago.

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SPOTLIGHT

From biochemist to executive supplier to angel investor to company founder and CEO, Maria Maccecchini, Ph.D.’s independent-minded approach to neurodegenerative disease could shake up the treatment landscape.