Weekly Roundup: Biotech Breakthroughs and Conference Conversations

iOnctura to present late-breaking data on roginolisib in immunotherapy-resistant NSCLC at SITC

iOnctura on Thursday announced that a late-breaking poster evaluating roginolisib in patients with immunotherapy-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will be presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2026 Annual Meeting, taking place November 4-8 in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Exogenus Therapeutics leads a €13 million EU-funded consortium to advance a new secretome-based therapy for osteoarthritis 

The ExoCordOA consortium on Thursday announced the launch of a five-year, €13 million project, funded by Horizon Europe to advance extracellular vesicle-enriched secretome therapies towards clinical use, with an initial focus on osteoarthritis. The project brings together ten organisations to advance EXO-101 towards clinical validation as a potential disease-modifying treatment for osteoarthritis.

 

ALLOX closed $10.5M seed financing and appointed Morten Graugaard as Chair to scale allosteric drug discovery platform and build pipeline

ALLOX, a biotechnology company developing a high-throughput, experimental-first platform to discover and exploit allosteric sites and other regulatory regions for drug discovery, on Thursday announced the successful closing of its US$10.5m (€9.4m) seed financing round and the appointment of Morten Graugaard as Independent Chair of its Board of Directors.

 

Oncoinvent appointed Dr. Zuzana Jiráková Trnková as Chief Medical Officer to lead Phase 3 preparations for Radspherin® 

Oncoinvent ASA (OSE: ONCIN), a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing Radspherin®, a receptor-independent alpha-emitting therapy to eradicate cancer cells in the abdominal cavity after surgery with a single, targeted dose, on Wednesday announced the appointment of Zuzana Jiráková Trnková, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Jiráková Trnková brings more than 20 years of clinical development experience spanning global pivotal Phase III trials and alpha-emitting radiopharmaceuticals

 

Simris Group appointed experienced ADC clinical development leader Dr. András Strassz as Chief Medical Officer

Simris Group AB, the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) company developing amanitin-derived novel payloads to overcome treatment resistance in both liquid and solid tumours, announced the appointment of Dr. András Strassz as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The appointment marks the next step in delivering the Company’s recently announced strategy as it builds the clinical expertise to advance its ADC programmes

 

Currus Biologics automates manufacturing of CUR-001 CAR T-cell therapy on Octane Biotech’s Cocoon® platform

Currus Biologics, an Australian biotech developing the BEAT, a proprietary, universal, bispecific antibody platform to unlock CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumours, on Tuesday announced that it has successfully automated the manufacturing process for CUR-001, its lead clinical candidate, on Octane’s Cocoon® Platform. The closed, automated process is designed to support consistent production of CUR-001 as it heads into a Phase 1 trial, with first patient dosing expected in early 2027.

 

Hansa Biopharma announced presentation of positive Idefirix PAES results in the High-Impact Clinical Trials session at ASN Kidney Week

Hansa Biopharma announced that data from the European Post-Authorization Efficacy and Safety (PAES) study of Idefirix^® (imlifidase) were presented during the High-Impact Clinical Trials oral session at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week 2026 in Denver, Colorado. The abstract “FR-OR103 Post-Authorization Efficacy and Safety (PAES): An Open-Label Post Authorization Trial of 50 Imlifidase Crossmatch-Positive Deceased-Donor Kidney Transplants in Europe” was selected as a Late-Breaking Abstract at the congress.

Hansa also announced that it will publish its interim report for January – September 2026 on November 11, 2026. Interested parties may join the Company’s quarterly conference call on the same date at 14:00 CET / 8:00 AM EST.

 

📅 Save the date!

 

Optimum’s 19th Annual Healthcare Investor Conference returns on 7 October 2027 — and we’re celebrating our 10-year anniversary!

Expect an unmissable day of bold ideas, valuable connections and lively debate as the life sciences and investment communities come together once again. Save the date—more details coming soon!

 

📢 Hot topic

Optimum’s 18th Annual Healthcare Investor Conference in early October explored how investors use AI to spot biotech opportunities and how biotechs use it to communicate their message. Missed the panel? Watch our latest Hot Topic on how both sides are deploying AI – and why it resembles an odd game of chess.

🎥 Optimum TV

What does great investor relations look like in the age of AI? This week on Optimum TV, Nick Bastin speaks with Karl Mahler, former Head of Investor Relations at Roche, about how AI is reshaping investor relations – and why judgement stays human.

Hear more about why companies need to own their story, communicate complex science clearly and give IR a voice before strategic decisions are made. They also explore why investors won’t buy what they don’t understand – and how the IR team of 2030 could be smaller, more strategic and closer to the science.

Watch the full episode on Optimum TV Here:

🎥 Optimum TV- Top Takeaways

If you couldn’t join us? Or want to revisit the day’s most insightful discussions. You can now watch the Top Takeaways from all seven panel sessions, including the newly released investor panel, on Optimum TV. [HERE]

These short video round-ups capture the conversations and perspectives that resonated most with delegates, making it easy to catch up wherever you are.

 

👥Industry events

 

BIO-Europe 2026 – Cologne, Germany | 9–11^th Nov 2026

Connecting with the global biotech community – Our CEO, Mary Clark, and Associate Director, Zoe Bolt, will be attending BIO-Europe 2026, one of the leading international dealmaking events for the life sciences industry.

The team are looking forward to meeting with companies, investors and potential partners to discuss collaboration opportunities. Get in touch to schedule a get-together.

Don’t miss Mary’s panel at 9:00 CET entitled – Pitch, Present, Persuade: Become a Powerful Corporate Communicator.

 

Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference & London Life Sciences Week
London | 15-20 November 2026

The Official Networking Event Guide, produced by Optimum Strategic Communications and Catalyst Advisors LP in partnership with Jefferies, is now live!

The guide brings together the key receptions, workshops, panel discussions, networking events and industry gatherings taking place throughout the week, helping attendees make the most of their time in London.

🔗👉 [VIEW THE OFFICIAL NETWORKING EVENT GUIDE]

Don’t miss your chance to discover what’s happening across one of the busiest weeks in the life sciences calendar and start planning your schedule today.

 

5K London Landmarks Run | 17 November 2026

Join us ahead of a busy week of meetings and events during London Life Sciences Week and the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference. Optimum Strategic Communications and Catalyst Advisors LP will welcome life sciences professionals for an early morning run through some of London’s most iconic landmarks.👉 [SIGN UP HERE]

 

🔄 Sector moves

The life sciences sector never stands still. From boardroom changes to strategic appointments, here’s a round-up of the latest moves shaping the industry.

 

That’s all folks!  To stay in the know – subscribe to Optimum’s weekly wrap-up today!