#90 – Psychedelic scandals, microplastic mishaps and anatomical analysis
The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.
Hello, my fellow detectives,
This week: Lilly splashes out $7.8bn on a narcolepsy biotech, Blackstone closes the largest life science private fund in history, Amsterdam researchers deliver a patriarchy-smashing anatomical breakthrough, lab gloves have been found to contaminate microplastic samples, and psychedelic startups are under fire for some rather questionable YouTube videos.
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💰Eli Lilly outlays $7.8bn to acquire sleep drug biotech Centessa (Pharmaceutical Technology): Eli Lilly is betting big on neuroscience, with a multi-billion-dollar move to acquire Cambridge-based Centessa Pharmaceuticals. The deal hands Lilly full ownership of cleminorexton, an orexin receptor 2 agonist targeting narcolepsy and other sleep-wake disorders. The drug has already posted strong Phase II results across narcolepsy types 1 and 2 and idiopathic hypersomnia.
Our take: Orexin receptor 2 agonists sit at the top of the sleep-wake hierarchy – addressing the root cause rather than papering over symptoms downstream. Narcolepsy alone is set to exceed 760,000 diagnosed cases across major markets by 2029, and cleminorexton's breadth across sleep-wake indications gives Lilly unusual optionality. For a field that has long struggled to move beyond symptom management, that's worth paying for.
🤑 Blackstone closes $6.3B fund for life sciences investing (BioPharma Dive): Blackstone has closed the largest life sciences private fund in history, roughly 40% bigger than its previous vehicle. With $15 billion in assets under management – and 34 approved medicines and devices – recent investments span gut disease, cancer, and cardiovascular medicine across partners including Teva, Merck, J&J, and Novartis.
Our take: Blackstone’s 86% approval rate for late-stage assets, well above the industry average, suggests a selection discipline that venture capital has struggled to replicate at scale. It’s that track record which makes this shift credible: private equity is now stepping in as the financing layer for late-stage assets that VC finds too capital-intensive, and pharma finds too risky to acquire outright.
♀️Full network of clitoral nerves mapped out for first time (The Guardian): Amsterdam researchers have produced the first-ever 3D map of the clitoral nerve network. The findings could reshape pelvic reconstructive surgery – improving outcomes in FGM repair and vulvar cancer procedures – while raising uncomfortable questions about how one of the body's most complex sensory organs stayed under-researched for so long.
Our take: The clitoral mapping project is a reminder of how thoroughly medical research has neglected female anatomy. The fact that it took nearly three decades after the penile nerve map to achieve equivalent knowledge for the clitoris is a direct reflection of how cultural discomfort and institutional bias have shaped research priorities. It also turns out some of what surgeons have been taught about clitoral anatomy is simply wrong. This new map doesn’t just fill a gap – it corrects the record.
🧤Contamination from lab gloves casts doubt on microplastics crisis (The Times): Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that standard laboratory gloves shed microscopic stearate salts that are virtually indistinguishable from polyethylene under common spectroscopy tests – producing false positives of up to 2,000 particles per square millimetre. It turns out the tools used to detect microplastic contamination have, in fact, been contributing to it!
Our take: Over the past decade, the “microplastics economy” has attracted billions in grants, consulting contracts, and testing technology – all built on data that may have been systematically inflated by the very gloves used to collect it. It's the latest in a series of methodological challenges to the field's most headline-grabbing findings, and the question of which results can still be trusted is becoming harder to avoid. It seems some housekeeping – or rather, lab-keeping – is in order.
And finally…
🧠 Psychedelic biotechs face scrutiny over YouTube promos (STAT): Psychedelic startups Helus Pharma and AtaiBeckley are facing backlash over paid YouTube videos making extraordinary claims about their experimental mental health drugs – including “100% patient improvement,” “rewiring the brain,” and an “FDA golden ticket,” all pinned to Phase 2 data. The videos – paid for by third-party marketing agencies on behalf of both companies – were disclosed, somewhat optimistically, as being for “informational purposes only.”
Our take: Psychedelics have spent years clawing toward mainstream medical acceptance, and both companies are hoping to attract pharma interest. Pinning such bold claims to Phase 2 data – the stage at which trials exist specifically to stress-test such numbers – hands critics exactly the ammunition they’ve been waiting for. Big pharma due diligence teams are not known for their enthusiasm toward targets whose marketing agencies are running ahead of the science.
Tune in 🎧
🦀 Investing in early-stage oncology with Yosemite’s Dan McHugh: Dan discusses how Yosemite backs early oncology science through unrestricted academic grants – and why that model produces better drug discovery than traditional VC.
🧬 HaemaLogiX - precision immunotherapy for multiple myeloma: Dr Rosanne Dunn on the company’s antibody approach to multiple myeloma and plasma cell disorders, and what sets it apart from existing treatments.
🦠 Identity crises, 1 mission: From broken shoulder to biotech career: Dr Nicole Paulk shares her unlikely path from the Pacific Northwest to leading AAV-based immunogene therapy for solid tumours.
Apply ✍️
A trio of account manager roles this week - what a treat!
🧑🔬 Account Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific: Got a knack for building relationships in science? Drive growth across CMD products, support customer partnerships, and help deliver solutions across health, environmental protection, and food safety.
🤖 Senior Account Manager, Global AI and Technology, Oxford PharmaGenesis: Keen to shape how AI gets embedded in medical communications? Lead digital and tech projects, develop new tools, and mentor teams across global accounts.
🌍 Global Strategic Account Manager, Cytiva: Ready to work at the intersection of pharma and strategy? Partner with senior account directors to execute complex global strategies, lead governance meetings, and manage cross-functional programmes – with a clear pathway toward account leadership.
RSVP 📆
🇮🇹 16-17.04 | 16th International Conference on Biotechnology | Rome, Italy: Under the theme “Living Technologies for a Changing World: The Future Begins in Biotechnology,” this global meeting celebrates innovation where biology meets imagination, exploring how living systems can heal, adapt, and drive sustainable transformation across health, energy, and the environment.
💊 16.04 | Frontier Biotech Tables: From Signal to Drug | London, UK: This gathering unites biotech founders, frontier researchers, pharma dealmakers, and investors to dissect what’s really holding back translation, and how to unlock the next generation of ageing therapeutics.
🌱 21.04 | BioSolutions UK | London, UK: Discover how biology is driving real-world solutions to global challenges, and be part of the conversation that’s transforming the future of our planet. Whether you’re a startup, scale-up, investor, industrial leader, or policymaker, there’s something for everyone.
📑 29.04 | The Hardian Health Tech Summit | London, UK: The Hardian team will be joined by representatives from the MHRA, FDA, NICE, NHS leaders, and more across the healthtech world for real-world insight into regulation and market access in medical devices.
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