Gen­der im­bal­ance in the av­er­age cor­po­rate board­room is en­dem­ic, and the bio­phar­ma world is no ex­cep­tion. Da­ta sug­gest women are woe­ful­ly un­der­rep­re­sent­ed in lead­er­ship roles, hold­ing just 20% of these seats at bio­phar­ma firms.

Last year, when we asked the End­points 100 — the group of biotech ex­ecs we re­ly on to mea­sure in­dus­try-wide sen­ti­ments in a se­mi-an­nu­al sur­vey — how the in­dus­try was per­form­ing on gen­der di­ver­si­ty, there was a con­sen­sus that it could do bet­ter. One way to do this, is to en­cour­age and cel­e­brate the women who have climbed the lad­der, de­spite the odds.

We are there­fore putting to­geth­er a spe­cial re­port to rec­og­nize the grow­ing num­ber of en­ter­pris­ing women who have made it to the top by su­per­charg­ing drug R&D. These roles could in­clude CEOs, CMOs, CSOs and R&D di­rec­tors and the like who have left an im­pres­sion at your work­place, or at any oth­er firm with­in the in­dus­try.

For those that have al­ready sent across your sug­ges­tions, thank you! We are now ex­tend­ing the fi­nal call to the rest: we are ac­cept­ing nom­i­na­tions un­til the end of this week, i.e. March 29. Email her name, cur­rent role and the rea­son for nom­i­na­tion to us:

You can al­so use the fol­low­ing nom­i­na­tion form:

We’ll see you again when the re­port gets out in the com­ing months. Mean­while, feel free to share any thoughts you have on the top­ic.

— Na­tal­ie Grover and Am­ber Tong

A small, Santa Ana-based biotech created in 2017 is looking to enter a SPAC deal as it lays out plans to begin trials in its lead cell therapy candidates and bring on new executives.

Graf Acquisition Corp. IV and NKGen Biotech announced Thursday, with few other details, that the two companies signed a non-binding letter of intent to “pursue a business combination.” Graf Acquisition II and III withdrew their IPOs last year.

The FDA has rejected Incyte’s extended-release formulation of ruxolitinib tablets, in a surprise setback for the company’s plans to build on its blockbuster Jakafi franchise.

The ruxolitinib XR tablets are designed to be taken once a day, whereas Jakafi is indicated for twice daily dosage (although some patients can take it once daily).

According to Incyte, the FDA acknowledged in its complete response letter that the study submitted in the NDA “met its objective of bioequivalence based on area under the curve (AUC) parameters but identified additional requirements for approval.”

Cyclerion Therapeutics may have the design of a Phase IIb study ready to go, but it’s scrambling for a way to fund it.

The company said in a press release that it’s “actively evaluating the best combination of capital, capabilities, and transactions available to it to advance the development of zagociguat,” its lead candidate for a rare, genetic mitochondrial disease known as MELAS.

In a separate SEC filing, Cyclerion once again flagged “substantial doubt about (its) ability to continue as a going concern.” As of the end of 2022, it had cash and cash equivalents of only $13.4 million.