Good day. Expedition Therapeutics is taking a big swing: The startup is going up against top pharmaceutical companies to field its own drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung condition that causes 6% of deaths globally. Among those heavyweights are GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Even on existing medications, COPD patients can have flare-ups, or “exacerbations,” that can land them in the hospital. Expedition is offering a once-daily pill that inhibits an enzyme called DPP1 to quell inflammation stemming from neutrophils. Neutrophils, the most-common type of white blood cell, are known as the immune system’s first responders–performing roles such as fighting infections. In the lungs of COPD patients, however, they become dysregulated and lead to inflammation.

San Francisco-based Expedition just raised $115 million in a Series B led by General Atlantic, money it will use to test the drug in global clinical trials of 600 patients.

Expedition Founder and Chief Executive Yi Larson previously was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Turning Point Therapeutics, a cancer drug developer that was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2022 for $4.1 billion. Before running biotechs, she was a managing director in healthcare investment banking at Goldman Sachs.

WSJ Pro spoke with Larson about Expedition’s effort to crack the COPD market. Here are excerpts from the conversation, edited for length and clarity. 

WSJ Pro: Why did you target COPD with your latest venture?

Larson: Most of the treatments today are addressing symptoms. And some of the newer treatments that have been approved—the biologics—are a bit more targeted, but only treat a minority of the patients. In DPP1, we found this beautifully selective target. That's an opportunity to potentially help millions of people.

WSJ Pro: What are some of the difficulties of developing a new COPD treatment?

Larson: One of the challenges is these are larger trials with patients from all over the world. You've got to have really good clinical operations and execution globally. From your trial design [perspective]—that’s where sometimes in the past COPD trials have failed.

WSJ Pro: Your Series B round is smaller than your $165 million Series A last year. Why?

Larson: This is disciplined capital-raising and deployment. I was a banker at Goldman for many years and now have been an operator for some time. That's always been my approach: What's the right amount of capital at the appropriate moment in time.

WSJ Pro: How has the biotech venture financing market changed since last year? 

Larson: Last year was very challenging. It does feel that things are a little bit better this year, although investors are still very disciplined and selective, which is a good thing.

WSJ Pro: What was it like to make the transition from banking to biotech entrepreneur?

Larson: Banking was a great training ground to be an operator. I was fortunate to have grown up in banking at a time when biotech was really growing at an accelerated pace, and I got to work with some of the best biotech companies and really learn from them– both what they were doing right and what wasn't going well. When I moved over to the operating side, it was really exciting to be able to take all those lessons learned and be able to implement them in my own companies.

And now on to the news...

Limited appetite. Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk remains open to making bolt-on acquisitions, but the Danish drugmaker’s Chief Executive Mike Doustdar has ruled out any large transformative deals. Speaking in an interview, Doustdar said a lot of market focus has been aimed at M&A in the pharma space this week after reports that AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb held talks in recent months over a potential tie-up.

• Doustdar said Novo Nordisk doesn’t see the need for transformative M&A.
   
• “What we do see is a need to continue looking at all possibilities and assets and technologies that exist within the areas we are operating in to bolt on and add on to the good stuff we’re doing on our own, because while we are very proud of our own pipeline, we also should be humble enough to say we don’t have a monopoly of good ideas,” he said.

Regulatory hurdles are complicating Earendil Labs’ plans for a Hong Kong initial public offering in which the Chinese artificial-intelligence biotech is seeking a valuation of about $5 billion, people familiar with the matter say. The company, which is planning to raise close to $400 million, recently submitted its IPO application to Chinese regulators, who have raised concerns over its “red-chip” holding structure, the people said.

• The term describes companies that have principal operations in China but are incorporated offshore, typically in jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands. Chinese businesses favor the setup because it gives them greater flexibility in raising capital overseas, but it has increasingly drawn regulatory scrutiny this year, the people said.
   
• According to the people, the China Securities Regulatory Commission asked Earendil to either dismantle its red-chip structure or justify why it is necessary before it decides whether to approve the IPO plan.
   

Switzerland-based Sandoz Group is in talks with the U.S. government about manufacturing investments in the country and doesn’t see President Trump’s planned tariffs on generic medicines as a major threat, the drugmaker’s chief executive said.

• Sandoz doesn’t produce in the U.S. currently and is one of the companies that could be hit by Trump’s plans to introduce tariffs on generic pharmaceuticals. Trump said last month the U.S. would place a 100% tariff on generics starting in August 2028, with levies increasing to 200% a year later.
   
• “I’m very optimistic,” Chief Executive Richard Saynor said. “I really do not see tariffs as a major threat. I see it as an opportunity to have the right dialogue and be very much part of the solution rather than the problem.”

Funds

Toronto-based Cross-Border Impact Ventures held the first $58 million close of its Women’s and Children’s Health Technology Fund II, which is targeting $125 million.

Norman, Okla.-based Boyd Street Capital launched its HealthTech Platform Fund II, a growth capital fund targeting $100 million with a focus on growth-stage healthcare technology investments.

People

Norwest appointed Allison Toman as a principal on the firm’s healthcare venture team.

Human health and sustainability-focused Flagship Pioneering appointed Fidah Alsagoff as executive partner and head of global initiatives. The firm also named Maggie Sahlman as executive partner and head of fundraising and investor relations.

Aqua Medical, a developer of minimally-invasive endoscopic therapies for type 2 diabetes and Barrett's Esophagus, appointed Robert "Bob" Haggerty as president and chief executive officer. He succeeds Lloyd Mencinger.

Synthekine, a startup developing precision cytokine therapeutics, appointed Susan M. Molineaux as chief executive officer.

NRG Therapeutics, which is developing  therapeutics to slow or halt the progression of neurodegenerative disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, appointed Claus Sundgreen as chief medical officer.

Assort Health, an AI agents platform for the entire patient journey, named Sunny Eappen as its first chief medical officer.

Exits

Hinge Health agreed to acquire Cylinder Health, a virtual healthcare platform that focuses on digestive and gut health, for $105 million.

Mironid, a Scotland-based startup developing small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, picked up $46 million in Series B funding from investors including Epidarex Capital and Sofinnova Partners. 

QuantHealth, a Tel Aviv-based clinical trial simulation startup, scored $45 million in Series B funding. Qumra Capital led the round, which included participation from Pitango HealthTech, Sanofi Ventures, NewHealth Ventures, Esplanade Ventures and others.

Dash Bio, a Waltham, Mass.-based startup building drug development infrastructure, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Oak HC/FT led the investment, which saw additional support from Swift Ventures and others.

SkinBit, a Los Angeles-based startup developing a full-body scanner for skin-cancer screening, landed $6 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Boost VC, Cleo Capital and Manna Ventures.

• CVS Health Launches Eli Lilly GLP-1 Partnership, Lifts Outlook as Profit Increases
   
• The Science Lab Where Technicians Are Drowning in Feces
   
• P&G Agrees to Buy Supplements Maker for $3.8 Billion
   
• Private-Label Body Powder Maker Files for Bankruptcy to Resolve Talc Lawsuits
   
• Fauci’s Turn From Pandemic Star to Silent Witness
   
• Gilead Sciences Swings to Loss on R&D Costs as HIV-Drug Sales Lift Revenue

• The U.S. Relies on Family Caregivers. Millions of Them Are Kids. (New York Times)
   
• Attovia Therapeutics stock soars after IPO, another positive sign for beleaguered biotech sector (San Francisco Business Times)

This newsletter was compiled by Sarah Klearman and Zachary Cole.

Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Sarah Klearman and Brian Gormley.

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