Biotech Briefs: Korsana, PharmaEssentia, Innovacell & More
The latest from small and Emerging Pharma companies featuring EIR Biopharma, EyePoint, Korsana Biosciences, Innovacell, PharmaEssentia, Rasayana Therapeutics/Theriva Biologics, and Sensei Biotherapeutics/Faeth Therapeutics.
For news on the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies, see Global Briefs.
* EIR Biopharma Launches US IPO
* EyePoint Names COO
* Innovacell Launches IPO in Japan
* Korsana Biosciences Raises $175 M To Fund Alzheimer’s Drug
* PharmaEssentia To Build $46 M Mfg Facility
* Rasayana Therapeutics Licenses GI Drug Candidate from Theriva Biologics
* Sensei Biotherapeutics, Faeth Therapeutics To Merge
EIR Biopharma Launches US IPO
EIR Biopharma, a San Francisco, California-based early-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutics for the treatment of eye disease, has filed an initial public offering to list its shares on Nasdaq. Its lead candidate is EIR-0205, a small-molecule drug licensed from Cornell University for the treatment of the atrophic “dry” form of age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD).
Source: EIR Biopharma
EyePoint Appoints New COO
EyePoint, a bio/pharmaceutical company focused on retinal diseases, has appointed Michael Campbell, currently Chief Commercial Officer at Opthea, as Chief Commercial Officer. Campbell will assume responsibility for EyePoint’s commercial strategy and launch readiness for Duravyu (vorolanib intravitreal insert), currently in Phase III development for treating wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic macular edema.
Prior to joining EyePoint, Campbell was the Chief Commercial Officer at Opthea, where he built the commercial organization and led pre-launch readiness for a potential new product for the treatment of wet AMD. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial at Viatris Eye Care. Campbell also contributed to the commercial planning of Beovu (brolucizumab-dbll) in wet AMD as Vice President of Biologic Commercialization in retina at Novartis and was the Vice President of the US Ophthalmology Business Unit at Shire, where he led the sales, marketing and operations of Xiidra (lifitegrast) for dry-eye disease and managed the transition of the franchise following its $3.4-billion sale to Novartis.
Source: EyePoint
Innovacell Launches IPO in Japan
Innovacell, a Tokyo-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on cell therapies, has filed an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company’s lead candidate is ICEF15, an autologous cell-therapy treatment for urge fecal incontinence.
Source: Innovacell
Korsana Biosciences Raises $175 M To Fund Alzheimer’s Drug
Korsana Biosciences, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based bio/pharmaceutical company developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, has disclosed recently raising $175 million to fund development of therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases, with an initial focus on Alzheimer’s disease. Korsana’s lead program is KRSA-028, a shuttled antibody targeting amyloid beta for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, discovered in partnership with Paragon Therapeutics.
The company was founded in 2024 with a $25-million seed investment from Fairmount and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. In September 2025, the company closed a $150-million private Series A financing co-led by Wellington Management and TCGX, with participation by J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Sanofi Ventures, Foresite Capital, and others.
In other news, Korsana has appointed Jonathan Violin, Ph.D. as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. Violin has been a venture partner at Fairmount since 2023 and previously served as founding CEO for Viridian Therapeutics from 2020 to 2023. Dr. Violin was also the founding CEO of Dianthus Therapeutics and of Quellis Biosciences, which merged into Astria Therapeutics.
Source: Korsana Biosciences
PharmaEssentia To Build $46 M Mfg Facility
PharmaEssentia Corporation, a Taiwan-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has announced an investment of approximately $46 million to establish a new, wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary in Puerto Rico. The planned investment supports the company’s global manufacturing expansion strategy and is intended to serve as a future manufacturing center for the US market and long-term global demand for Besremi (ropeginterferon alfa-2b), a treatment for polycythemia vera, a type of blood cancer.
Source: PharmaEssentia
Rasayana Therapeutics Licenses GI Drug Candidate from Theriva Biologics
Theriva Biologics, a Rockville, Maryland-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to treat cancer, has out-licensed SYN-020, a drug for treating multiple metabolic and inflammatory disorders and diseases associated with aging, to Rasayana Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based privately held company focused on gut-targeted medicines treating chronic inflammatory diseases.
SYN-020 is a recombinant bovine intestinal alkaline phosphatase formulated for oral delivery to the small intestine. It is designed to reduce fat absorption and intestinal inflammation, tighten the gut barrier to mitigate leaky gut, and promote a healthy microbiome. These modes-of-action mean SYN-020 has the potential to address multiple metabolic and inflammatory disorders and diseases associated with aging. SYN-020 was well tolerated in Phase I clinical studies and is now poised to enter Phase II clinical testing with Rasayana.
Source: Theriva Biologics
Sensei Biotherapeutics, Faeth Therapeutics To Merge
Sensei Biotherapeutics, a Boston-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, has acquired Faeth Therapeutics, a clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company developing multi-node therapies that target tumor metabolism and signaling. The acquisition brings Faeth’s lead asset Piktor, an investigational all-oral combination of serabelisib and sapanisertib that inhibits multiple nodes of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway through PI3K-alpha and dual mTORC1/2 targeting, into Sensei’s pipeline.
Source: Sensei Biotherapeutics
