Pfiz­er is bankrolling a new on­colyt­ic virus start­up, tak­ing a 50% stake in the can­cer drug out­fit while hold­ing an op­tion to buy it if the founders ap­pear to be on the right R&D track.

The up­start is Ig­nite Im­munother­a­py, based in Alame­da, CA, which is be­ing launched by a group of ex­pe­ri­enced on­colyt­ics hands. Berke­ley ad­junct pro­fes­sor David Kirn, the CEO of 4D Mol­e­c­u­lar Ther­a­peu­tics, is the co-founder, along with Berke­ley’s Dave Schaf­fer.

Doug Hana­han, di­rec­tor of the Swiss In­sti­tute for Can­cer Re­search, is al­so count­ed as a co-founder, while Pfiz­er re­search ex­ec James Mer­son joins the board.

Pfiz­er is al­so pay­ing for the R&D work at the com­pa­ny over the next three years, as Ig­nite looks to jump in­to a wave of up and com­ing biotechs where are hur­ry­ing along next-gen on­colyt­ic vac­cines aim­ing at sur­pass­ing the pi­o­neer­ing Im­ly­g­ic (T-Vec), mar­ket­ed by Am­gen. A bunch of these star­tups are pair­ing up with check­point in­hibitors, a fact that wasn’t lost on Pfiz­er as it seeks the 4th OK of a check­point drug.

It’s a hot and hap­pen­ing field. Boehringer just inked a $230 mil­lion deal to part­ner with Vi­raTher­a­peu­tics. And the start­up will join ri­vals like PsiOxus. Philip Ast­ley-Sparke, who helmed BioVex be­fore Am­gen bought it up for T-Vec, co-found­ed Replimune, an­oth­er next-gen on­colyt­ic virus play­er. Mitchell Fin­er, the for­mer CSO at blue­bird bio, took the helm at the up­start On­corus, which just raised a $57 mil­lion ven­ture round and is us­ing a her­pes sim­plex virus for their work on glioblas­toma. And Duke Uni­ver­si­ty’s Dr. Matthias Gromeier has ge­net­i­cal­ly en­gi­neered his virus to keep it fo­cused on can­cer, and away from healthy tis­sues.

Biohaven is at risk of making a habit of disappointing its investors. 

Late Friday the biotech $BHVN reported that the FDA had rejected its application for riluzole, an old drug that they had made over into a sublingual formulation that dissolves under the tongue. According to Biohaven, the FDA had a problem with the active ingredient used in a bioequivalence study back in 2017, which they got from the Canadian drugmaker Apotex.

Let the long battle for biosimilars in the cancer space begin.

Amgen has launched its Avastin and Herceptin copycats — licensed from the predecessors of Allergan — almost two years after the FDA had stamped its approval on Mvasi (bevacizumab-awwb) and three months after the Kanjinti OK (trastuzumab-anns). While the biotech had been fielding biosimilars in Europe, this marks their first foray in the US — and the first oncology biosimilars in the country.

→ On the same day it announced a $17.5 million Series C, life sciences and health data company Seer unveiled that it had lured former FDA commissioner and ex-CMS administrator Mark McClellan on to its board. “Mark’s deep understanding of the health care ecosystem and visionary insights on policy reform will be crucial in informing our thinking as we work to bring our liquid biopsy and life sciences products to market,” said Seer chief and founder Omid Farokhzad in a statement.

Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day’s new task hunting up a CSO for the company isn’t stopping the industry’s dominant antiviral player from doing pipeline deals.

The big biotech today snapped up 3 preclinical antiviral programs from pharma giant Novartis, with drugs promising to treat human rhinovirus, influenza and herpes viruses. We don’t know what the upfront is, but the back end has $291 million in milestones baked in.