Peptide News Digest

AAIC 2026 Opens Sunday July 12 in London With Broader Neurodegeneration Program Beyond Vaccinex Pepinemab (AC Immune Three Presentations, Eisai 50+ Presentations, 12,000 Researchers), Gallup Poll Finds 11% of Americans Now Take GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs (Tripled From 3% in 2024) as US Obesity Rate Falls to 36.4% From 39.9% Peak in 2022, Novartis Agrees to Acquire Myricx Bio for Up to $1.5 Billion in Next-Generation ADC Payload Deal, Lonza Acquires Rights to Nona Biosciences' TfR1 Blood-Brain Barrier Technology for CNS Delivery

AAIC 2026 opens Sunday July 12 in London; Gallup 11% GLP-1 usage / 36.4% obesity rate; Novartis-Myricx $1.5B ADC deal; Lonza-Nona BBB deal.

4 stories · Covering clinical-trials, industry

Editor's Note

Saturday's digest reads as a weekend synthesis of running stories twelve days out from the July 23-24 PCAC vote. The Alzheimer's Association International Conference opens tomorrow in London and runs through Wednesday, drawing roughly 12,000 researchers. Vaccinex's pepinemab Featured Research Session (SEMA4D antibody, July 13) is the peptide-adjacent centerpiece already flagged; the broader program includes AC Immune's three presentations across TDP-43 PET imaging, an NLRP3 inhibitor in Phase 1, and an alpha-synuclein Morphomer, plus Eisai's 50-plus lecanemab presentations. On the epidemiology side, Gallup's July 7 poll release documented that 1 in 9 US adults (11%) now take a GLP-1 medication for weight loss, tripling from 3% two years earlier, while the US adult obesity rate has drifted from a 2022 peak of 39.9% down to 36.4% in 2026. Two ADC-and-CNS payload deals closed the week's biotech news: Novartis agreed to acquire UK biotech Myricx Bio for up to $1.5 billion ($1.1 billion upfront) for a next-generation N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) ADC payload platform, and Lonza acquired rights to Nona Biosciences' TfR1 blood-brain barrier technology (single-domain VHH antibodies) with expanded strategic collaboration on CNS delivery platforms. Both deals extend the payload-and-delivery infrastructure that peptide and peptide-drug-conjugate programs run on top of.

Clinical Trials

AAIC 2026 (Alzheimer's Association International Conference) Opens Sunday July 12 and Runs Through Wednesday July 15 at the ExCeL London — Broader Neurodegeneration Program Beyond Vaccinex Pepinemab SEMA4D Featured Research Session on July 13 Includes AC Immune Three Presentations (First-in-Class TDP-43 PET Tracer With Early Human FTD and ALS Imaging Data, Brain-Penetrant NLRP3 Inhibitor in Phase 1, and Alpha-Synuclein Morphomer With Neuroprotective Preclinical Effects) and Eisai's 50-Plus Alzheimer's Disease Portfolio Presentations Across the Lecanemab Franchise

The Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC 2026) opens Sunday July 12 and runs through Wednesday July 15 at the ExCeL London, drawing approximately 12,000 researchers and health-care professionals from around the globe. The peptide-adjacent centerpiece already flagged in Wednesday's Vaccinex announcement is the Featured Research Session on Monday July 13 for pepinemab (humanized IgG4 anti-Semaphorin 4D monoclonal antibody), chaired by Elizabeth Evans, PhD, presenting new glial biomarker data from the Phase 1b/2 SIGNAL-AD study alongside plans for the expanded Phase 2b SIGNAL-AD2 trial. AC Immune (NASDAQ: ACIU) will present three programs from its Morphomer platform: a first-in-class TDP-43 PET tracer with encouraging early human imaging data in frontotemporal dementia and ALS, a novel brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor in Phase 1 that supports an orally delivered CNS therapy profile, and an alpha-synuclein Morphomer showing potent, brain-penetrant inhibition of pathology with neuroprotective effects. Eisai will present 50-plus abstracts spanning the lecanemab (LEQEMBI) Alzheimer's disease portfolio, including biomarker, long-term safety, and clinical-utility readouts.

#aaic-2026 #alzheimers-disease #vaccinex #pepinemab #sema4d #ac-immune #morphomer #tdp-43 #nlrp3-inhibitor #alpha-synuclein #eisai #lecanemab #neurodegeneration
Industry

Gallup Poll Released Tuesday July 7 (Sustained Coverage Through the Weekend): 1 in 9 US Adults (11%) Now Take a GLP-1 Medication for Weight Loss, Tripling From 3% in 2024 and Rising From 8% in 2025; US Adult Obesity Rate Fell From a Record 39.9% in 2022 to 36.4% in 2026, and Awareness of GLP-1 Drugs Climbed From 80% in 2024 to 91% in 2026; Diabetes Diagnosis Rate Held Steady After 15 Years of Slow Increase

Gallup released Tuesday July 7, 2026 poll results (survey conducted May-June 2026 with 5,000+ respondents across all 50 states and DC) showing 1 in 9 US adults (11%) now take a GLP-1 medication for weight loss. That share tripled from 3% in the 2024 survey and rose from 8% in 2025. The US adult obesity rate, which peaked at 39.9% in 2022, has drifted down to 36.4% in 2026, a statistically significant decline that inversely tracks the rise in GLP-1 use. Awareness of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss climbed from 80% in 2024 to 91% in 2026. Diagnosis of diabetes held steady after 15 years of slow increase in prior surveys. Follow-up coverage ran through Wednesday-Friday (Foreign Policy Journal, Forbes' Zachary Folk, Medscape, Fox 7 Austin, Bakery & Snacks) framing the results as the first large-population evidence that GLP-1 uptake is bending the US obesity curve. Payer analyst commentary tracked in parallel: employers continue steering workers toward cash-pay GLP-1 platforms as sticker prices stay high and adherence remains a concern (roughly two-thirds of non-T2D GLP-1 patients discontinue within one year).

#gallup #glp-1 #obesity-rate #weight-loss-drugs #epidemiology #wegovy #zepbound #adherence #employer-benefits
Industry

Novartis Agrees Monday July 6 to Acquire UK Biotech Myricx Bio for Up to $1.5 Billion ($1.1 Billion Cash Upfront Plus Milestones) to Advance a Next-Generation N-Myristoyltransferase Inhibitor (NMTi) Antibody-Drug Conjugate Payload Platform With Two Lead Assets Targeting B7-H3 and HER2 Across Multiple Solid-Tumor Settings; Transaction Expected to Close in H2 2026 Subject to Customary Closing Conditions Including Regulatory Approvals

Novartis announced Monday July 6, 2026 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire UK biotech Myricx Bio for up to $1.5 billion ($1.1 billion cash upfront plus potential milestone payments) to advance next-generation ADC payload innovation. Myricx Bio developed a first-in-class N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) payload platform. NMT is an enzyme that maintains the function of certain proteins inside cells, and cancer cells rely on it to grow and survive; blocking NMT with a payload delivered via ADC disrupts those processes directly inside tumor cells. Myricx's two lead assets target B7-H3 and HER2 across multiple solid-tumor settings. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2026 subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. The deal extends the payload-and-linker chemistry infrastructure that peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs), ADCs, and adjacent bioconjugate modalities share. Novo Holdings (through its portfolio company backing of Myricx) and Sofinnova Partners were among the pre-deal investors. Endpoints News framed the transaction as another 2026 signal that payload innovation, not antibody targeting alone, is driving competitive differentiation in the next-generation ADC race.

#novartis #myricx-bio #adc #antibody-drug-conjugate #nmti #n-myristoyltransferase #b7-h3 #her2 #payload-platform #sofinnova #novo-holdings #m-and-a
Industry

Lonza Acquires Rights to Nona Biosciences' TfR1 (Transferrin Receptor 1) Blood-Brain Barrier Technology and Expands Strategic Collaboration for CNS Delivery Platforms (July 2 Announcement, Sustained Rollout Through July 10): TfR1-Binding Single-Domain VHH Antibodies Deliver as IgG Fusion or Conjugated via Lonza's GlycoConnect Bioconjugation; Preclinical Data Show Improved Brain Delivery Versus Leading Industry Benchmark in a Relevant Transgenic Model

Lonza announced Thursday July 2, 2026 that it has acquired rights to Nona Biosciences' transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) blood-brain barrier (BBB) technology and expanded its strategic collaboration with Nona to develop next-generation BBB delivery platforms. The technology uses single-domain VHH antibodies that bind TfR1, a receptor expressed on the cells lining the blood-brain barrier, to shuttle attached payloads into the brain. The platform can deploy as an immunoglobulin G (IgG) fusion or through conjugation with therapeutic molecules using Lonza's GlycoConnect bioconjugation technology. Preclinical data show that Nona's TfR1-binding VHH improved brain delivery versus a leading industry benchmark in a relevant transgenic model. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Lonza will immediately make the technology available to CNS drug developers while continuing to collaborate with Nona on future BBB platforms. The deal fits Lonza's CDMO-facing strategy of combining GS Gene Expression System capabilities with GlycoConnect chemistry to give customers new tools for CNS therapeutic candidates — including peptide-and-conjugate CNS programs that have historically been limited by BBB penetration.

#lonza #nona-biosciences #tfr1 #transferrin-receptor #blood-brain-barrier #bbb-delivery #vhh-antibody #cns-delivery #glycoconnect #cdmo