#83 - Tumour terrain, T-cell turns, & trailblazing women

The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.

Hello, my fellow pioneers,

This week, the immune system takes centre stage. Tumours are being prodded in human tissue, CAR-T makes an in vivo pivot into autoimmune disease, a troublesome bacterial sugar finds itself implicated in ALS and dementia, the FDA gives Moderna’s flu ambitions a chilly reception, and the Royal Society turns its attention to the women whose scientific contributions never quite made it onto the map for Women and Girls in STEM day this week.

Mind the cytokines,

Dodo

Discover 🔍

🎗️ Physiological human in vitro models to study and evaluate tumor immunology (GEN): Three studies nudge tumour immunology further into the human lane. A UPenn vascularised chip lets researchers watch CAR-T cells slip through vessels and into solid tumours in real time, exposing endothelial choke points. A patient-derived lymphoma organoid traces post-chemo immune faltering to germinal centre B-cell failure. And in Singapore, hyaluronic acid hydrogels kept tumour explants alive for 12 days, preserving immune diversity for drug testing.

Our take: Mouse xenografts were serviceable stand-ins, but solid tumours are fussy, territorial things. These chips and organoids let researchers watch the whole skirmish unfold in human tissue, from CAR-T extravasation to stromal obstruction and immune exhaustion after chemotherapy. Instead of waiting for tumour shrinkage curves, teams can now observe where therapies stall and why, and refine strategy before patients even enter the frame.

🛡️ Eli Lilly enters CAR T realm with $2.4B orna buy, starting with autoimmune (BioSpace): The deal gives Lilly access to in vivo CAR-T tech that uses circular RNA delivered via lipid nanoparticles to generate CAR-T cells inside the body, sidestepping the traditional ex vivo manufacturing process. Lead asset Orna-252 targets CD19 for B cell-driven autoimmune diseases and is clinical trial-ready, though still preclinical. CEO David Ricks previously dismissed CAR-T over accessibility concerns, making this a notable about-face.

Our take: Ricks told Reuters in 2019 the data was “amazing” but CAR-T simply couldn’t reach enough people. Now, in vivo delivery has removed the manufacturing bottleneck, Lilly has gone straight for autoimmune, where eligible patients number in the millions rather than the thousands currently receiving CAR-T for cancer. That’s a bet on CAR-T as a mass-market modality, and the other large pharma holdouts will likely follow suit.

🍭 Gut-brain discovery identifies harmful bacterial sugar as potential therapeutic target for ALS and dementia (MedicalXpress): A whopping 70% of the 23 patients examined had dangerous levels of inflammatory glycogen produced by gut bacteria, vs 1/3 of those without. For C9ORF72 mutation carriers, the most common genetic cause of both conditions, it may explain why only some people develop disease. Reducing the harmful sugars in mice improved brain health and lifespan. Clinical trials are potentially a year away.

Our take: If degrading a bacterial sugar in the gut can slow progression, the resulting therapy could be mechanistically straightforward - a gut-targeted enzyme or sugar-degrading agent. That’s a simple intervention aimed at diseases where current options are ruinously expensive and largely palliative. How pharma prices a cheap mechanism against a desperate, high-value patient population will be rather revealing.

❌ FDA declines to review Moderna application for new flu vaccine (The Guardian): The agency argues Moderna’s clinical trials didn’t stand up against the best available standard of care. The trials compared the new shot to standard flu vaccines in under-65s and high-dose vaccines in over-65s, a design previously agreed with the FDA. The refusal letter, unusually signed by CBER director Vinay Prasad, identified no safety or efficacy concerns. The application is already under review in the EU, Canada and Australia.

Our take: If a foreign regulator licenses an mRNA flu vaccine that the FDA wouldn’t review, it puts the agency in a rather awkward spot. This is the same agency that fast-tracked mRNA authorisation during COVID. Stalling on the same platform five years later, on a trial design it previously agreed to, sends a peculiar message to every vaccine developer weighing US-first filing strategies. Moderna may simply build its flu franchise elsewhere.

And finally…

👭 Royal Society calls for public’s help to build Women in STEM history map of the UK (The Royal Society): The project currently covers sites around the Society’s London headquarters, drawn from a rather industrious year of archival digging. Now the public is being enlisted to submit locations from across the UK tied to women from science history. It marks 80 years since women were first elected to the Society’s Fellowship, a jolly good milestone given they were kept out for the previous 285.

Our take: A year of dedicated archival research and the Royal Society still needs the public to fill in the blanks. Sounds… familar… The map makes visible just how thoroughly women’s contributions went unrecorded by the very institutions that benefited from them. Crowdsourcing here amounts to retrospective cataloguing that ought to have happened decades ago. Splendid project, mind you, for this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Tune in 🎧

🏆 Why AI, obesity and breast cancer will dominate 2026: DDW editors discuss how artificial intelligence, obesity treatments, and breast cancer research will attract significant investor attention and fundamentally reshape the drug discovery landscape throughout 2026.

📈 Biotech Beat NVIDIA in 2025. Can It Do It Again?: Analysts discuss whether biotech can repeat its 2025 outperformance of NVIDIA, focusing on Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk earnings, FDA regulatory challenges, and managing investment risk in 2026.

🧠 Mini human brains, termination shock, and ancient fossils: Guests discuss lab-grown brain organoids with blood vessels, the catastrophic risks of geoengineering “termination shock,” and a massive discovery of 512-million-year-old fossils in a Chinese quarry.

Apply ✍️

🧪 Scientist I/II, Bioconjugation, Abzena: Expert in molecular matchmaking? Master the art of bioconjugation by linking cytotoxic drugs and oligonucleotides to proteins, using next-generation platforms like ThioBridge® to develop life-changing ADCs.

💊 Project Manager I Drug Development, Quotient Sciences: Ready to transition from the lab to leadership? Use your analytical or R&D background to act as the primary bridge between clients and scientists, managing complex drug development timelines and budgets.

🍺 Fermentation Scientist I, Bactobio: Think you can outsmart superbugs? Use your expertise in bioreactors and non-model microbes to scale production of novel compounds, turning deeptech insights into life-saving medical and agricultural solutions.

RSVP 📆

🤖 18.02 | Startup Lab: AI Compliance | London, UK: Join experts to find out how to master the UK’s AI regulatory landscape, clinical safety, and data protection obligations to build secure, compliant healthtech products.

🌎 20.02 | Biocom Global Partnering and Investor Conference | California, USA: California’s premier life science partnering event, uniting 500+ investors, CEOs, and execs from pharma, biotech, and research for deal-making, small company showcases, and insights on the latest industry trends and innovation.

👩🏻‍💻 27.02 | Innovation in Women’s Health and Femtech | London, UK: Explore breakthroughs in women’s health technology, digital tools, and data strategies to improve patient outcomes and integrate innovative solutions into clinical practice.

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