Plus, news about ViiV’s long-acting PrEP and a newly announced merger:
Galapagos investor gets board seat: After building up a stake in the struggling Belgian drugmaker, EcoR1 Capital founder Oleg Nodelman has been named to the board. In August, EcoR1 said it planned to discuss Galapagos’ “performance, business, operations, strategic opportunities and governance, including board composition.” Nodelman replaces Dan Baker, who was chair of the company’s science and development committee. — Kyle LaHucik
OnKure completes Reneo merger, secures $65M private placement: Thanks to the merger and private placement, the company, which will continue to be called OnKure Therapeutics, will have a cash runway into the fourth quarter of 2026. OnKure’s lead drug, dubbed OKI-219, is a PI3Kα inhibitor currently in a Phase 1 trial in solid tumor patients, including breast cancer. — Katherine Lewin
ViiV Healthcare expands long-acting HIV PrEP supply to low- and middle-income countries: The company announced Monday that it would make at least two million doses of long-acting cabotegravir, marketed as Apretude, available in 2025 and 2026, tripling the 2024 supply. By the end of this year, ViiV will have supplied its HIV drug to 14 countries. — Katherine Lewin
Virios Therapeutics and Wex Pharmaceuticals announce merger: The new name of the combined companies will be Dogwood Therapeutics, with a focus on developing three drugs: Halneuron, which is in a Phase 2b trial for chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain; a second asset that is ready for Phase 3 development in fibromyalgia; and a third drug in Phase 2 to treat long Covid. — Katherine Lewin