Lilly partners with Kumquat to discover small molecule IO drug. Kite, Appia Bio collaborate on allogeneic cell therapies. AstraZeneca and Regeneron pursue novel metabolic therapies targeting GPR75. Lexeo and Stelios merge to focus on gene therapies for rare cardiovascular indications.

Singapore has granted approval for a Phase I/II trial of Arcturus’s next generation mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidates, hot on the heels of a similar approval from Vietnam earlier this week. The biotech’s share price duly rocketed, but there may be more at play.

Taking full control of partner Translate Bio means that Sanofi is the only big vaccine company with a wholly-owned mRNA platform in-house but observers say it is too early to declare that the Paris-headquartered group has bagged itself a bargain.

Sanofi and GSK, which are in the middle of Phase III global trials for their COVID-19 vaccine candidate, plan to test the contender against all variants of concern including the highly contagious Delta variant, Scrip has learned. Meanwhile, Pfizer/BioNTech is looking at a booster to combat lower efficacy/effectiveness against this variant.