India is a global pharmacy powerhouse, but not yet a deep science leader. The gap between talent and trust may be pushing innovation away. An X post claims India’s best biotech startups are moving abroad. A recent X post by Dilip Kumar, an investor in founders at Rainmatterin and Zerodhaonline, has raised a serious conversation about India’s biotech ecosystem. The post describes a founder, trained at Yale, who returned to India to build a biotech company working on vaccines for deadly cancers, only to struggle with raising funds and navigating regulations. The founder mentioned in the X post reportedly struggled to raise venture capital because most investors are unwilling to commit to 7–10 year timelines, which are typical for biotech innovation.

Original title: “India’s biotech startup problem: X post points to funding, policy gaps - India Today”

large scale quantitative morphometry of platelet granules via sim super resolution microscopy for cancer liquid biopsy

Original title: “Large-Scale Quantitative Morphometry of Platelet α-Granules via SIM Super-Resolution Microscopy for Cancer Liquid Biopsy.”

Sidewinder Therapeutics’ bispecific antibody-drug conjugates target pairs of receptors found on cancer cells, which the company claims improves their specificity and minimizes off-target effects.

Original title: “Novartis-backed Sidewinder collects $137M series B to strike at difficult-to-treat tumors”

On a conference call with analysts, Gilead walked through how a string of recent deals focused on cancer and autoimmune conditions could help a diversification plan it’s long struggled to execute.

Original title: “With 3 quick buyouts, Gilead leans into its latest transformation”

stabilizing lysosome to facilitate verteporfin based anticancer photodynamic therapy via trehalose co assembled nanogel

Original title: “Stabilizing lysosome to facilitate verteporfin-based anticancer photodynamic therapy via trehalose co-assembled nanogel.”

Gilead’s third acquisition since late February hands it a technology designed to make antibody-drug conjugates less toxic and multiple cancer medicines already in clinical testing.

Original title: “Gilead continues M&A surge with $3.1B deal for ADC specialist Tubulis”

In this episode of Denatured, you'll listen to Dr. Marc Hedrick, President and CEO of Plus Therapeutics and Dr. Phil Kantoff, CEO & Co-founder of Convergent Therapeutics. They discuss breakthroughs like alpha-emitting isotopes, supply chain solutions and why radiotherapeutics is biotech's next big frontier.

Original title: “The Radiotherapeutics Moment: How Isotopes are Changing Cancer Treatment”

Convergent Therapeutics' Dr. Philip Kantoff and Plus Therapeutics' Dr. Marc Hedrick discuss how unmet medical needs, maturing isotope supply chains and innovative delivery are positioning targeted radiation as oncology's next big platform.

Original title: “The Brave New World of Radiotherapeutics”

Research into areas like cancer could become collateral damage of a broader anti-mRNA push, according to a new study.

Original title: “mRNA is poised to rise beyond infectious diseases, if it’s not derailed by R&D cuts”

The six companies that have priced initial public offerings so far banked a median of $287.5 million, a figure far surpassing what’s been observed over a similar timeframe in prior years, according to BioPharma Dive data. Renaissance Capital, a prominent IPO research firm, had similar sentiments in a quarterly review, noting how “surging volatility,” including the war in the Middle East, “grounded the IPO party before it took off.” · The biotechs that have managed to price an offering so far in 2026 continue to fit the mold of the companies that saw the most success in 2025. All but one had drugs in mid- or late-stage clinical testing. They also all previously raised large amounts of venture funding, and were developing drugs in hot areas of research such as autoimmune conditions or cancer. Biotechnology initial public offerings have continued to price at a slow pace in the first three months of 2026, but the amount raised in their initial share sales has soared compared to previous years. Biopharma companies collectively banked $1.7 billion in IPOs in the first quarter of 2026, the most of any quarter since 2021, according to BioPharma Dive data. Three of those companies raised more than $300 million, a benchmark rarely seen since the sector's peak in 2021. Trendline Inside the market of emerging biotech Supported by BRANY View all ... Science AIs can ‘memorize’ data they shouldn’t. Can they be forced to forget? View all ... Structured Intelligence: How AI Is Transforming High-Stakes R&D Decisions Webinar - on demand • Provided by Digital Science · Developing an Array of Diverse Vaccine Platforms Webinar - on demand • Provided by BioPharma Dive's studioID; Sponsored content by Novavax in partnership with studioID Biotechs built around one or even a few drug prospects have made up the bulk of recent biotech offerings, and the year’s best-performing newly public company, Veradermics, is primarily focused on a single therapy for hair loss. The investor demand for those offerings encouraged some platform-centric counterparts, such as Eikon Therapeutics and Generate Biomedicines, to test the public markets too. Both priced lucrative IPOs, but at lower valuations than they’d once commanded as private companies.

Original title: “Biotech IPOs stayed at slow pace, but grew larger in the first quarter of 2026 | BioPharma Dive”

cbago enriched cas12a biosensor for cancer mutations screening

Original title: “CbAgo-enriched Cas12a biosensor for cancer mutations screening.”

The planned Shanghai facility extends a yearslong push into the field and will support CAR-T therapies AstraZeneca is making for autoimmune disease and cancer.

Original title: “AstraZeneca to boost cell therapy capabilities with new China investment”

Backed by more than a dozen investors, the biotech startup will use the funding to further a Phase 1 trial of its lead program CBX-250.

Original title: “Crossbow raises $77M for new cancer immunotherapies”

Alongside R1 Therapeutics, Mestag Therapeutics and iDEL Therapeutics also brought in money on Tuesday, helping to push their respective cancer portfolios forward.

Original title: “R1 Leads Busy Fundraising Day With $77.5M Series A Raise for Kidney Disease”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to require the filing of a premarket approval application (PMA) for blood irradiators intended to irradiate intraoperatively salvaged blood for cancer patients undergoing surgery to assist in prevention of metastasis, which are unclassified, preamendments devices. FDA is summarizing its proposed findings regarding the degree of risk of illness or injury designed to be eliminated or reduced by requiring the devices to meet PMA requirements of th

Original title: “Effective Date of Requirement for Premarket Approval Applications for Blood Irradiators Intended To Prevent Metastasis”

Astellas Pharma and CytomX Therapeutics first partnered up in March 2020. For $80 million upfront, the Japanese pharma gained access to the biotech’s Probody platform to generate masked antibody therapies for cancer.

Original title: “Astellas Divorces CytomX Despite Positive Phase 1 Data for Antibody Platform”

impact of microbiome modulating strategies in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy msit a systematic review and meta analysis

Original title: “Impact of microbiome-modulating strategies in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy (MSIT): A systematic review and meta-analysis.”

Ipsen found cases of secondary malignancies in a confirmatory study of Tavzerik, a medicine it got in a purchase of Epizyme and that it has struggled to sell.

Original title: “Ipsen to withdraw cancer drug acquired in buyout due to safety concerns”

The M&A momentum continued in February with several large strategic deals across energy, telecom, finance, infrastructure, biotech, and technology — signaling continued consolidation and large-scale capital deployment. Large deals announced during the month demonstrate how companies and investors ... The M&A momentum continued in February with several large strategic deals across energy, telecom, finance, infrastructure, biotech, and technology — signaling continued consolidation and large-scale capital deployment. Large deals announced during the month demonstrate how companies and investors are investing to strengthen market position, scale operations, and expand into new areas such as AI, digital The Intellizence dataset highlights key M&A deals for February 2026, including multi-billion-dollar acquisitions across energy, telecom, finance, infrastructure, biotech, and technology. Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences plans to acquire Arcellx, a developer of advanced cancer therapies, in a deal valued at up to $7.8 billion. Arcellx specializes in cell therapies for hematologic cancers, particularly CAR-T treatments. The transaction reflects continued biotech consolidation as pharmaceutical companies acquire innovative drug developers. Deals can be funded through cash, stock, debt financing, or a combination.

Original title: “Top 10 Largest Global Merger & Acquisition Deals – February 2026 | Intellizence Top 10 Largest M&A Deals - February 2026”

According to the National Organization ... rare diseases identified, less than 5% have approved treatments available.2 Additionally, patients suffering from conditions that may not necessarily be considered rare — including many cancers — may either have no approved treatment options available or may have exhausted all approved treatment options. For both groups, participating in a clinical trial may be their only hope of therapy for their ... According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), an estimated 10% of all Americans — or approximately 30 million people — half of whom are children, are affected by rare diseases.1 Of the more than 10,000 rare diseases identified, less than 5% have approved treatments available.2 Additionally, patients suffering from conditions that may not necessarily be considered rare — including many cancers — may either have no approved treatment options available or may have exhausted all approved treatment options. For both groups, participating in a clinical trial may be their only hope of therapy for their disease. Continued honesty and transparency about the investigational nature and inherent uncertainty of clinical trial treatment outcomes will ameliorate the risks of providing false hope and therapeutic misconceptions to an understandably desperate group of potential participants. Since AI tools have the potential to review medical records and clinical trial protocols more quickly and efficiently than humans, these tools will decrease the eligibility-screening time, speeding up the enrollment process and enabling participants to begin the clinical trial sooner. The use of these tools will be a boon to patients with rare diseases and those with no approved treatments. There is a common expectation that if we or our family members become ill, our doctor will be able to treat us. For Americans suffering from a rare disease, that is often not the case. However, with careful consideration in building the AI tool to enable screening for multiple trials at once and with thorough review and oversight by IRBs and Research Privacy Boards to ensure participants' privacy and the confidentiality of their records is maintained, the use of AI tools in matching potential participants to clinical trials could revolutionize the industry. ... 1 National Organization for Rare Disorders, Rare Disease Facts and Statistics, https://rarediseases.org/understanding-rare-disease/rare-disease-facts-and-statistics/

Original title: “AI Can Help With Clinical Trial Matching - New Technology - United States”