These are the need-to-know biotech stories from this weekend

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Lots of news on the cardiovascular front this morning: We discuss Novo Nordisk’s plans in heart disease, and Verve’s gene editing therapy for familial hypercholesterolemia. We also learn about a new initiative to try and prevent gonorrhea spread with a meningitis vaccine.

The need-to-know this morning
• Forge Biologics, a privately held contract manufacturer of cell and gene therapies, is being acquired for $554 million by Ajinomoto, a Japanese multinational food and biotechnology conglomerate. Forge was created in 2020, backed by Perceptive Advisors’ Xontogeny Venture Fund.
• Aclaris Therapeutics said an experimental drug failed to reduce symptoms compared to a placebo in a mid-stage clinical trial of people with rheumatoid arthritis. The company is discontinuing development of the drug, called zunsemetinib, including an ongoing study in psoriasis.
• Vir Biotechnology presented new data from mid-stage studies involving experimental treatments for chronic hepatitis delta and hepatitis B.

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