VX-880 is the first iteration of a cell therapy strategy which Vertex believes can bring curative treatment for Type 1 diabetes, but competition in this field is building.

With no approved therapies globally for Stargardt's, competition in the indication is increasing in Japan, where Kubota Vision is seeking for conditional approval for emixustat, while Belite Bio’s contender tinlarebant has received Sakigake designation as a local Phase III program continues.

Private Company Edition: Amplitude Ventures raised $192m for its second fund, while XGEN Venture debuted with €160m ($173.4m). Also, hub-and-spoke biopharma operator CinRx added $73m, Adcendo extended its series A round to €98m ($106.2m) and Grey Wolf raised $50m.

Known for its efforts in neurology, Biogen has been looking to make somewhat safer bets in immunology as it seeks to diversify and may achieve that with HI-Bio’s Phase III-ready felzartamab.