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Today, a brief rundown of news involving Acelyrin and Neumora Therapeutics, as well as updates from Biohaven, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and Pliant Therapeutics you may have missed.
Acelyrin on Tuesday rejected an unsolicited bid from Concentra Biosciences and urged shareholders to support its plans to merge with fellow immune drugmaker Alumis. In a pair of announcements, Acelyrin said Concentra’s offer “is not reasonably expected to result in a superior proposal” to the Alumis deal, which, by comparison, “maximizes long-term value” for its shareholders and creates “a leading clinical stage biopharma company for immune-mediated diseases.” Concentra bid $3 in cash per share for Acelyrin, plus the right to most of the proceeds from any licensing deals or sales it might have pursued. Acelyrin stockholders would own about 45% of the combined company in the planned merger with Alumis. — Ben Fidler
Atara Biotherapeutics is laying off 50% of its workforce after deciding to discontinue development of two cell therapy programs. The first, ATA3219, is in Phase 1 testing for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lupus nephritis, while the second, ATA3431, is in preclinical stages. Atara, whose stock has fallen by more than 60% over the past year, had 159 employees as of the end of September, but cut some staff in January. — Ned Pagliarulo
Robert Lenz, head of research and development at Neumora Therapeutics, is leaving the buzzy biotechnology company to “pursue other interests.” It isn’t clear who Lenz’s successor will be, but his departure is the latest change to an executive team that’s been shaken up in the wake of a major setback. Neumora lost most of its share value in January, after the biotech’s most advanced drug, navacaprant, failed in a late-stage study as a treatment for major depression. Two more major depression studies are still underway, and Neumora says it’s prioritizing them with its resource allocation. To that end, the company also said Monday that it discontinued a mid-stage study testing navacaprant against bipolar depression. Neumora had $308 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at the close of last year. — Jacob Bell
Biohaven gave several research updates on Monday alongside issuing its latest earnings report. On the positive side, an experimental protein-degrading molecule appears to be working well. Biohaven said a small trial found the molecule reduced levels of “Immunoglobulin G” — an antibody tied to various immune system disorders — by a median of 80%. Meanwhile, a different Biohaven drug that works by regulating so-called ion channels did not succeed in a bipolar mania study. RBC Capital Markets analyst Leonid Timashev described the news as “one step forward, one step back” for the company. By Tuesday morning Biohaven shares had dipped more than 18% from Friday’s close. — Jacob Bell