Full-service contract research organization Rho has named neurologist Andrew Feigin, M.D., its new chief medical officer. Feigin is an expert in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.

Asset manager TPG, which has supported biotechs such as Sionna Therapeutics and Santa Ana Bio, has topped up its Life Science Innovations fund, bringing total capital raised for the effort to $580 million.

Big Pharmas remain stuck to the idea of molecular glue degraders. The latest company to see an opportunity is Japan’s Eisai, which has signed a $1.5 billion biobucks pact with SEED Therapeutics for undisclosed neurodegeneration and oncology targets.

Merck & Co. has quickly recouped some of the costs of its Harpoon Therapeutics buyout, pulling in $170 million upfront by incorporating the lead candidate into a co-development deal with Daiichi Sankyo.

Biogen and Novartis may have walked away from partnerships with Sangamo Therapeutics last year, but that hasn’t stopped Roche from seeking out a pact with the biotech to work on intravenous genomic medicines for neurodegenerative diseases.

Special pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt is selling its photopheresis business, Therakos, to CVC Capital Partners for $925 million.

Zevra Therapeutics’ rare disease drug seems to be on the path to approval this fall after gaining the backing of an FDA advisory committee, although the experts were split, with some voting yes simply to address an unmet need.

BioNTech may still claim that the bispecific antibody acasunlimab has an “encouraging” clinical profile, but the mRNA leader has opted to end its involvement and allow partner Genmab to go solo for phase 3 trials.

Testmaker Cepheid plans to eliminate 626 staff positions at its Sunnyvale, California headquarters by September 27, according to a regulatory filing.

Bristol Myers Squibb is axing another big bet from the Caforio era, terminating a deal for Agenus’ TIGIT bispecific antibody three years after paying $200 million to buy into the program.