#66 – Irish science, cardiac silence, and fibrotic defiance

The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.

My dearest pulmonary poets,

This week’s roundup pulses through the brain, heart and lungs: In Hibernia (the Latin name for Ireland, don’t you know), local lad Jack O’Meara launches a neuro RNAi startup; Novo walks away from heart failure, leaving $598M on the table; a lung fibrosis study hints at fibrosis reversal; AstraZeneca tightens its grip on Wall Street; and Axsome proves there’s still brainpower in biopharma.

Slán go fóill,

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☘️ After building Ochre Bio, Jack O’Meara’s newest biotech raises $21M for neuro siRNAs (Endpoints): O’Meara has launched Aerska to develop precision medicines for neurodegenerative diseases. The Dublin and London-based startup is betting on RNA interference combined with brain shuttle technology – attempting to crack what’s been a notoriously difficult delivery challenge. The team looks impressive, with leadership from Alnylam, AstraZeneca, and an ex-Ochre Bio colleague, giving them real execution muscle from the get-go.

Our take: Here’s hoping Aerska brings the luck of the Irish to neuro! RNAi has been rather successful in the liver thanks to GalNAc conjugates, but the brain is a different story. If they can replicate that success across the blood-brain barrier, it could open up an entirely new therapeutic class for neurodegeneration. Recent moves – like AbbVie’s Aliada deal – suggest Big Pharma is ravenous for credible brain delivery platforms.

📈 AstraZeneca shares soar as it confirms dual UK-US stockmarket listing (Business Weekly): In a bid to appeal to global investors, the pharma giant is upgrading its US equity – swapping Nasdaq ADRs for a direct NYSE listing – under a Harmonised Listing Structure which spans the LSE, Nasdaq Stockholm, and NYSE. AZ’s plans sent its London share price soaring by 86p, lifting its market cap to £178.5B.

Our take: Switching ADRs for a direct NYSE listing should deepen liquidity and sharpen AZ’s cost of capital against its US peers – well timed with its American expansion and tariff pressures. The move aligns governance with global investor access while keeping a UK base. But if corps must structurally lean into Wall Street to compete globally, it’s another knock for mid-caps and the LSE’s life-sciences ambitions.

💔 Novo Breaks $598M Heartseed Pact Amid ‘Decisive Restructuring’ by New CEO (BioSpace): The Danish pharma giant has scrapped its four-year partnership with Tokyo-based Heartseed centred on HS-001, an investigational cell therapy for heart failure. The move is part of a strategic refocus on diabetes and obesity under new CEO Mike Doustdar following a brutal 35% share drop and 9,000 planned redundancies. All HS-001 IP now reverts to Heartseed, which must seek fresh partnerships to continue development outside of Japan.

Our take: Novo is doubling down on its GLP-1 core just as Lilly expands aggressively into cardiometabolic indications – raising the question of whether anything non-GLP-1 is now expendable. For Heartseed, the speed of this reversal (the partnership was agreed in 2021) shows just how quickly “strategic priorities” can flip. Securing an overseas partner will be pivotal to keep HS-001 on a global path.

😮‍💨 Asthma study suggests lung scarring may be reversible (Labiotech): Severe asthma leaves lasting structural changes long thought irreversible, but a new study brings hope. Researchers from Aberdeen and Manchester targeted chitinase-like proteins (CLPs), which correlate with asthma severity, in mouse models of steroid-insensitive disease. Blocking these proteins partially reversed lung stiffness and structural damage. It’s an animal-only result for now, and developing safe human inhibitors could take at least a decade.

Our take: While most current treatments dampen inflammation, this work aims at the fibrotic remodelling itself. CLP mechanisms have long eluded drug developers and this research is a tantalising step towards understanding them. If validated, CLP inhibition could redefine asthma care (which affects 260M people worldwide) and extend to diseases as varied as COPD, liver disease, and cardiac fibrosis. The next milestones: human tissue validation, safe inhibitor development, and non-invasive ways to track structural repair.

And finally…

🇭🇹 This Haiti-born doctor built A $6B business developing drugs for depression and Alzheimer’s (Forbes): Founded in 2012 by Herriot Tabuteau, Axsome Therapeutics has reached a $6.1B valuation developing drugs for challenging brain disorders – while eschewing venture capital and cutting trial costs by running clinical studies in-house. Axsome currently markets 3 drugs, with 5 more in the pipeline, and generated $495M in revenue in the last year alone. Its flagship antidepressant Auvelity, approved in 2022, is currently approaching $500M in annual sales.

Our take: Axsome proves that multi-asset CNS portfolios can thrive, even as Big Pharma pares back in the neuro space. With 150M Americans affected by depression, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, and narcolepsy, the market is vast yet underserved. Tabuteau’s cost-controlled sequential trials, plus smart acquisitions, have built resilience that single-asset biotechs rarely achieve. If its next therapy – an Alzheimer’s agitation drug – lands approval, it cements Axsome as a mid-cap blueprint for biopharma, without the usual burn rates.

Tune in 🎧

👀 Rare Diseases, Patent Expirations, ESMO25 and Sheff’s Watchlist: An audio tour through biotech’s market – from rare diseases, to Keytruda’s looming expiry. Expect options trading chat, ESMO prep, and Sheffield’s latest crystal-ball predictions.

🌊 Huntington’s treatment, and the High Seas Treaty: A landmark moment in Huntington’s disease care paired with a deep dive into global ocean protection – an unexpectedly apt double bill from The Naked Scientists.

🗺️ Atlas Venture’s Bruce Booth: Bruce Booth traces his path into biotech, unpacks how Atlas Venture is structured, and explains what they back – plus views on company creation, capital efficiency and boardcraft.

Apply ✍️

💻 Multicellular systems modeling scientist, Deep Origin: Fancy coding a “gut feeling”? Model organ-level toxicities with agent-based simulation tools, turning cell chatter into computational insight. Python pros with a flair for the multicellular wanted.

🥼 Clinical Trial Manager, Precision Medicine Group: Got spreadsheets in your soul and oncology in your heart? Lead trial ops across borders, keep timelines tight, and drive rare disease research forward – all from the comfort of your desk.

💊 Pharmacovigilance (PVG) Project Leader, Bionical Emas: Eagle-eyed with a knack for SOPs? Own safety systems from setup to submission, steer global PV projects, and stay ahead of evolving regs – all while changing patient lives at scale.

RSVP 📆

🤝 15.10 | HealthTech Founders & Innovators Meetup | Manchester, UK: An evening of high-value networking. No pitches, no panels, just authentic connections with founders, medtech engineers, clinicians, researchers, and developers in healthtech.

🧪 21-22.10 | Drug Discovery 2025 – A festival of life science | Liverpool, UK: Europe’s largest drug discovery meet returns to Liverpool. Two days of talks, 200+ exhibitors and careers support. Free to attend.

🌍 11-12.11 | Global Pharma and Biotech Summit | London, UK: Two days of keynotes and panels with innovators, investors and C-suite – covering drug discovery, clinical trials, market access and patient engagement.

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