Vor Bio back from brink with autoimmune drug deal rising to $4bn
According to the deal, Vor Bio – previously a cell and gene therapy specialist – will gain global rights to develop and commercialise telitacicept, a drug already approved in China for a range of autoimmune conditions.
Vor Bio is immediately paying $125m via an upfront payment and common stock purchases. Further regulatory and commercial milestones mean the deal could surpass $4bn in total.
Shares in Vor Bio opened 45% higher on 26 June following the announcement the day prior. The biotech has a market cap of $144m.
RemeGen will keep rights to the dual-target fusion protein in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
In China, telitacicept is already approved for generalised myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Telitacicept reduces B-cell activity by inhibiting two types of cytokines and is tipped to challenge existing autoimmune drugs.
RemeGen is conducting a global Phase III clinical trial with telitacicept for the treatment of generalised myasthenia gravis. The study, which is expected to produce initial results in the first half of 2027, will support potential approval in the US and Europe.
The deal signals an abrupt turnaround for Vor Bio. Once an incumbent in the cell and gene therapy space, the company became a casualty of the sector's poor performance. The biotech wound down clinical and manufacturing operations in May, along with firing 95% of its staff. The eight that were left were tasked with strategic alternatives.
A Vor Bio spokesperson told Pharmaceutical Technology: 'At the time, the company announced it would be initiating a process to pursue strategic alternatives, and this transaction is part of that process.'
The company's high-value licensing deal reflects the company's transition away from advanced therapies and into autoimmune indications.
Sanofi's blockbuster autoimmune drug Dupixent (dupilumab) is one of the best-selling drugs in the world, representing the lucrative nature of the sector. For example, the rheumatoid arthritis drug market across the eight major global markets is forecast to reach $29.1bn by 2029, according to analysis by GlobalData.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
While announcing the RemeGen deal, Vor Bio revealed that a new CEO will lead the company going forward. Dr Jean-Paul Kress will be at the helm following Dr Robert Ang's resignation on 26 June. Kress most recently served as CEO of MorphoSys, helping roll out Monjuvi (tafasitamab) – a drug acquired for $25m by Incyte.
In his first statement as CEO, Kress said he was 'thrilled' to help transform the company into a 'major player in autoimmune disease treatment'.
He added: 'With a clinically advanced asset, we are uniquely positioned to develop this innovative therapy, with the goal of making a meaningful impact for patients living with autoimmune diseases around the world.'
"Vor Bio back from brink with autoimmune drug deal rising to $4bn" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hong Kong democrat Jimmy Lai given heart monitor for final stretch of marathon trial
By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai was provided with medication and a heart monitor for the start of his final submissions in a landmark national security trial, following health concerns over heart palpitations. Lai, 77, who founded the Apple Daily newspaper that was forced to close after a police raid and asset freeze in June 2021, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material. Lai's lawyer Robert Pang told the court last Friday that Lai had some episodes where he felt that he was collapsing and had heart "palpitations", prompting the court to adjourn proceedings and order that he be provided with a heart monitor and medication. Prosecutor Anthony Chau confirmed that Lai had been provided with these items on Friday and that he was now fit for court. Lai, noticeably thinner than when the trial began in late 2023, was dressed in a white jacket in the glass dock and pressed his palms together in a prayer gesture several times to his family and supporters. One of the judges, Esther Toh, said additional breaks could be provided for Lai if need be, while also acknowledging the opinion of a medical expert who examined Lai that he was "physically and mentally fit for court." "I'm worried for him. He's already in his 70s and has diabetes, and now palpitations," said Lucille, a supporter who queued for hours to get into the packed courtroom. Lai, a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for around 1,700 days. His son and some rights groups have expressed fear over his deteriorating health. Some Western governments have called for Lai's immediate release and raised concerns about the erosion of fundamental rights in the financial hub under China-imposed national security laws. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have said Lai is being given a fair trial and have warned against such interference in the city's internal affairs. U.S. President Donald Trump said in a media interview last week that he would "do everything I can to save him." An Australian foreign affairs spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that Canberra was "deeply concerned by Hong Kong's widespread application of national security laws to repress civil society and prosecute pro-democracy advocates ... such as Jimmy Lai". Solve the daily Crossword
Business Insider
4 hours ago
- Business Insider
Nvidia or AMD: Billionaire Ken Griffin Goes All-In on One Top AI Chip Stock
AI has been Wall Street's obsession for quite some time now, with investors excited about how the game-changing tech is set to transform our world in many ways, from reshaping business models and driving productivity gains to creating entirely new markets and industries. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. The technology is widely seen as one of the most transformative forces of our era – yet, according to investing legend Ken Griffin, the most meaningful chapters are still unwritten. 'Generative AI has just gripped the world both in mind-share impact and to some degree hype… Generative AI is just another step in the journey of the use of machine learning technologies by modern society… I think the really interesting generative AI stories are going to be when people think about how to use these tools in radically different ways than we currently use software, and those will be many of the game-changing businesses of the next 10 to 20 years. So it's going to be incredibly exciting,' Griffin opined. Griffin is backing up his words with action. With a net worth north of $47 billion, the founder and CEO of Citadel – one of the world's most profitable hedge funds, managing $68 billion in capital – has been leaning heavily into the AI opportunity. Citadel's portfolio boasts some of the most prominent AI stocks out there, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD). However, during Q2, Griffin loaded up on one of these yet trimmed his holdings of the other. So, we've decided to take a closer look at the pair to see why Griffin has more conviction in one of these names right now, and with a little help from the TipRanks database, we can also find out if the Street's analyst community is thinking along the same lines. Nvidia What better place to start than at the altar of the mightiest AI stock of them all? The current bull market might be an AI-driven one, but you might as well call it the Nvidia bull market. That's because AI's rise has coincided with Nvidia's march to the top of the market cap charts, with the firm transforming from merely a semiconductor giant to becoming the world's most valuable company. That transformation has been powered by one critical fact: Nvidia makes the best AI chips on the market – the ones driving the data centers that fuel this technological revolution. Under Jensen Huang's leadership, the company now commands more than an 80% share of this space, leaving rivals scrambling to keep pace. It's a remarkable shift for a firm that, not long ago, was better known for supplying GPUs to gamers. Wall Street first took notice when its data center segment exploded into Nvidia's primary growth engine, and the company has since built a track record of delivering blockbuster quarterly results. Even trade restrictions and China-related headwinds haven't derailed its momentum, as demonstrated in its last reported fiscal Q1 quarter. (April quarter). Revenue surged to $44.06 billion, up 69.2% year-over-year and ahead of consensus by $810 million. Data Center revenue accounted for $39.1 billion of that total, a 73% annual jump. Earnings strength followed suit, with adjusted EPS of $0.81 beating forecasts by $0.06. With all of that on offer, Ken Griffin has signaled that he wants in. During Q2, he upped his NVDA stake by 414%, purchasing 6,513,348 shares. These are currently worth a whopping ~$1.175 billion. According to Piper Sandler's Harsh Kumar, an analyst ranked in 13th spot amongst the thousands of Wall Street stock experts, that investment is going to pay off nicely. Looking ahead to the upcoming July quarter readout (slated for August 27), Kumar thinks another strong display is coming. 'We are expecting another positive quarter from NVDA and see upside to numbers for both the July and October quarters,' the 5-star analyst said. 'While we are modeling largely in-line for the July quarter and slightly below Street for October, we are calling for upside given the recent positive commentary from U.S. hyperscalers as well as the inclusion of revenues from China. We note that our estimates and Street estimates do not reflect the inclusion of China business as we are anticipating revenues to start coming in towards the end of this month. China demand in our view could amount to ~$6B in sales for the October quarter and further ramp from there at a ~12-15% growth rate moving forward in a normal quarter. Finally, we are encouraged by hyperscaler commentary around capex plans for 2H and 2026 which should continue to pressure NVDA to meet this demand.' Quantifying his bullish stance, Kumar rates NVDA shares as Overweight (i.e., Buy) while his $225 price target factors in a one-year gain of 25%. (To watch Kumar's track record, click here) The majority of Kumar's colleagues support that stance; NVDA claims a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on a mix of 35 Buys, 2 Holds and 1 Sell. (See NVDA stock forecast) AMD There is really no better stock to delve into next than AMD, a statement that is something of both a compliment and a curse. A compliment because AMD is seen as possibly the only other semi name out there that can challenge Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip world. Moreover, AMD has already proven itself adept at eroding another rival's rule over a particular segment. Intel used to be the undisputed leader of the CPU space, but by making the most of Intel's mistakes and offering better products, AMD has been steadily closing the gap on the fallen chip giant's leading position in that sector. But the very fact that AMD is measured against Nvidia is what makes the comparison something of a curse. Despite its achievements, AMD has often been saddled with 'little bro' status. The perception persists that AMD is simply second-best in the AI chip game, lacking the complete ecosystem that Nvidia offers, and forced to play catch-up in a market it entered much later. And unlike struggling Intel, Nvidia isn't a weakened rival – it's still firing on all cylinders, making the bar for AMD that much higher. Even so, it's important not to overlook AMD's own impressive trajectory. While Nvidia may have stolen the spotlight, AMD has continued to deliver solid results and carve out its share of wins. The company's recent Q2 readout underscored that point. Revenue climbed by 31.7% year-over-year, reaching $7.69 billion and outpacing analyst expectations by $260 million. At the bottom line, adjusted EPS of $0.48 landed in line with consensus estimates. Looking ahead, AMD projects Q3 revenue of $8.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, well above the Street's forecast of $8.32 billion. In fact, this outlook didn't even factor in revenue from shipments to China, which had been banned at the time but are now allowed again. The market has taken notice. AMD shares have surged 127% since April's tariff-driven lows, a rally that may explain why Griffin has been trimming his stake. In Q2, the billionaire sold 2,433,332 AMD shares, cutting 67% of his holdings. That kind of caution is mirrored in recent comments made by Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore, who wrote: 'AMD revenue continues to be quite strong, but it's not clear that will be enough to keep the bulls in charge of the narrative. AMD guided well above consensus for Q3, but there are a few factors of note here that make the topline strength less appealing: (1) Console gaming upside drove the beat in Q2, arguably the lowest quality portion of AMD's business, (2) datacenter GPU will be up y/y in Q3, implying 1.6bn+ by our estimates; combined with company commentary for strong server and growth in embedded and client, we don't think it's likely to be more than 100- 200mn more than that…(3) Opex coming in above estimates limits impact on EPS.' To this end, the 5-star analyst rates AMD an Equal-Weight (i.e., Neutral) while his $168 price target implies shares will slide by 5% over the coming months. (To watch Moore's track record, click here) To find good ideas for AI stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Xinhua Silk Road: Waterfalls forge stronger China-Italy bond
BEIJING, Aug. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- "The two natural wonders have not only become a symbol of our friendly relations, but also a cultural bridge connecting two places," Walter Semperboni, mayor of Valbondione in the Italian province of Bergamo, highlighted the waterfall-linked friendship between China and Italy in a recent letter. This connection was formalized in December 2020 during the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Italy diplomatic relations, when the Jiulong Waterfalls in Luoping County, Qujing City, southwestern China's Yunnan Province and Italy's Serio Falls near Valbondione were officially twinned. "These waterfalls constitute natural bridges for exchanges and cooperation," said Lorenzo Riccardi, president of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce. On August 7, 2023, Riccardi represented the government of Valbondione to unveil a friendship monument commemorating the pact between the twin waterfalls at the Jiulong Waterfalls scenic area. Thanks to this partnership, the Jiulong Waterfalls scenic area has launched many cultural and tourism cooperation initiatives with Italy over the past five years, noted Hu Yibo, who is in charge of the scenic area. According to Hu, Italian tourist groups make dedicated visits to the Jiulong Waterfalls, where characteristic cultural activities such as ethnic performances and cultural exhibitions offer international visitors immersive experiences. Meanwhile, the Serio Falls, renowned across Europe, provide valuable insights for scenic area management and nature conservation. "The twinning enables the two countries to share tourism development expertise," Hu added. With the 5th anniversary of the friendship pact between the Jiulong Waterfalls and the Serio Falls in 2025, Semperboni envisioned expanded cooperation. "We hope there will be further cooperation through joint planning and promotion of tourism projects, mutual visits and exchanges among the youth, and collaboration in environmental protection and sustainable development." Original link: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
