The Bio Report

A One Two Gene Therapy Punch to Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

A One‑Two Gene Therapy Punch to Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Non–muscle invasive bladder cancer is a common, slow-progressing form of bladder cancer that makes up a majority of the roughly half a million new cases diagnosed each year. For decades, doctors have relied on a weakened bacterium called BCG, an intravesical immunotherapy, as a standard treatment for early-stage disease, but it fails in about 30 to 40 percent of patients. EnGene is taking a different approach with detalimogene, an experimental, non-viral gene therapy designed to trigger a powerful but localized immune response right where the cancer lives in the bladder. We spoke with Ron Cooper, CEO of EnGene, about this therapy for non–muscle invasive bladder cancer, how its dual payload is meant to activate both an innate and adaptive immune response in the bladder, and the company’s $130 million financing at the end of 2025.

Reprogramming T Cells to Cross the Brain’s Border

One of the challenges of treating brain tumors is delivering potent biologic therapies across the blood-brain barrier. Adaptin Bio has developed platform technology that harnesses a patient’s own T cells to transport bispecific therapeutic payloads across the blood-brain barrier and into other targeted tissue with an initial focus on treating glioblastoma. We spoke to Michael Roberts, co-founder and CEO of Adaptin Bio, about the unmet need in glioblastoma, the limitations of current blood-brain barrier–crossing strategies, and how the company’s platform seeks to change the treatment paradigm by using patient-derived T cells as delivery vehicles for targeted biologics.

A Billion-Dollar Bet on AI-First Drug Development

Despite the emergence of new modalities and drug development technologies, the cost and time to produce new therapies has changed little, and failure rates remain high. Xaira aims to change that with a systematic, AI‑driven approach that tackles three pervasive bottlenecks—choosing the right targets, designing the right molecules, and matching the right patients—by running as much work as possible in silico and using high‑dimensional causal datasets to train “virtual cell” foundation models. The company is initially focusing on high‑value, historically undruggable targets and ultimately on building a pipeline of differentiated biologics. We spoke with Marc Tessier‑Lavigne, co‑founder and CEO of Xaira, about applying end‑to‑end AI across target discovery, molecular design, and patient stratification; the company’s more than $1 billion in funding, and how it seeks to enable a new generation of scientists fluent in both AI and biology.

Finding New Targets on the Surface of Misfolded Proteins

Finding New Targets on the Surface of Misfolded

One of the biggest hurdles in drug development is targeting proteins found in both healthy and diseased cells without triggering toxic side effects. In cancer, this challenge often translates into narrow therapeutic windows, collateral damage to normal tissues, and forced dose reductions that limit efficacy. The result is a crowded field where many companies chase the same well-known targets, leaving vast patient populations without effective options. Immuto Scientific is taking a different approach. The company is redefining how targets are identified—focusing not on genetic sequence, but on disease-specific protein conformations. By studying the structural shapes that proteins take in malignant cells, Immuto aims to distinguish cancerous from healthy tissue, broaden therapeutic windows, and unlock new or previously undruggable targets across oncology and beyond. We spoke with Faraz Choudhury, co-founder and CEO of Immuto Scientific, about the company’s AI-enabled structural surfaceomics platform, how it allows drugs to selectively home in on diseased cells while sparing normal ones, and Immuto’s plans to extend its science into immunology and inflammation.

Proteins

Targeting Tumors from the Inside Out

Systemic chemotherapy remains the foundation of cancer treatment, but its widespread toxicity too often cuts short potential therapeutic benefits. NanOlogy is developing a new approach—localized cancer therapy that keeps the drug where it’s needed most. We spoke to Marc Iacobucci, managing director of Nanology about the company’s precision particle engineering platform, how it transforms existing oncology drugs into microparticles optimized for intratumoral delivery; and how this enables sustained, high-concentration dosing inside tumors that destroys cancer cells, stimulates immune responses, and spares patients the debilitating effects of systemic chemotherapy.

An Effort to Detect and Treat Alzheimer’s at Its Earliest Stages

One of the challenges in treating the neurodegenerative condition Alzheimer’s disease is intervening early enough in the course of illness to provide meaningful benefit. AltPep is developing therapeutics with companion diagnostics that target toxic α-sheet–containing oligomers, which are thought to form very early in the disease and act as molecular triggers of downstream amyloid pathology. These structures are believed to represent some of the earliest detectable stages of Alzheimer’s and to promote the formation of amyloid plaques, a hallmark feature of the condition.​ We spoke with Valerie Daggett, founder and CEO of AltPep, about the relationship between α-sheet oligomers and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, how the company’s synthetic peptides are designed to bind and neutralize these pathogenic agents, and the potential for this platform to be extended to a broader set of amyloid diseases.

The Year in Biotech and What’s Ahead for 2026

Biotech stocks staged a dramatic turnaround in 2025, with the XBI well outpacing the S&P 500 despite concerns over leadership changes at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Trump administration’s efforts to put constraints on drug pricing, and its broader cuts to health and science agencies. A pick-up in deal-making, along with falling interest rates, helped buoy the sector with growing anticipation for continued improvement in 2026. We sat down with Adam Feuerstein, senior biotech writer for STAT, for our annual review-preview edition, the noteworthy trends in the biotech sector 2025, and what’s in store at the upcoming JPMorgan Healthcare Conference and beyond in 2026.   

Developing an Alternative to Opioids for Post-Surgical Pain

The approach to post-surgical pain relief has relied on short-duration treatments and notably opioids. That’s led to the associated risks of dependence and abuse, prolonged hospitalizations, and slower recoveries. Allay Therapeutics is developing an alternative to opioids to treat post-surgical pain with an initial focus on knee replacement surgeries. Allay’s guitar pick-sized polymer is implanted during surgical procedures and it releases the analgesic bupivacaine as it dissolves over 30 days. We spoke to Adam Gridley, CEO of Allay Therapeutics, about post-surgical pain, the need for alternatives to opioids; and the company’s implanted, extended-release analgesic.