Boundless Bio, Inc.

Padlock investors sue Bristol Myers Squibb for milestone payment refusal; Gilead appoints Dietmar Berger as top doctor; Boundless Bio execs resign, company halts drug development; Lonza to focus on core CDMO business; Bausch + Lomb explores potential sale.

Scientists identified a drug (BBI-2779) targeting ecDNA, which drives survival in aggressive cancers, potentially improving treatment outcomes.

Researchers found ecDNAs can contain enhancers linking multiple circles, crucial for cancer development. ecDNAs segregate together during cell division, defying Mendel's rule. Blocking CHK1 protein kills ecDNA-containing tumor cells, with CHK1 inhibitors now in clinical trials for certain cancers.

US-UK study identifies ecDNA as crucial for aggressive cancer survival and resistance, suggesting CHK1 inhibitors as potential new treatment.

S.B., A.D., T.J.F., I.M.G., L.G., R.K.J., G.K., J.M.L., G.V.L., K.P.-J., H.I.S., J.T., R.R.W., M.W., Y.L.W. have disclosed various financial interests, including funding, advisory roles, patents, and equity. C.M.B., E.B., M.W.B., and K.P. declare no competing interests.

Med-tech updates: deals, partnerships, grants, preclinical data, and other briefs involving Aptar, Axogen, Biocare Medical, Boundless Bio, Elutia, Ensigna, Ovation.io, Perspective Therapeutics, PD Theranostics, Sophia Genetics, Venus Medtech, Viz.ai.

SOPHiA GENETICS and Boundless Bio collaborate to develop an ecDNA detection algorithm for clinical trial enrollment in Boundless Bio's POTENTIATE Phase 1/2 study of BBI-355, an ecDNA-directed therapy for oncogene amplified cancers. Precision for Medicine supports the trial with its laboratory services, contributing to a novel workflow for patient sample processing.