{"id":1636,"date":"2026-10-15T08:14:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T06:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5mn.ch\/?p=1636"},"modified":"2026-10-17T23:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T21:04:16","slug":"daily-brief-2026-10-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/5mn.ch\/de\/insights\/2026\/10\/15\/daily-brief-2026-10-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Kuros, Heidelberg Pharma, Modus Therapeutics, Lakefront Biotherapeutics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Daily Brief \u00b7 Thu 15 Oct 2026 \u00b7 5 stories<\/p>\n

Schweiz<\/h3>\n
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Kuros Biosciences \u00b7 KURN<\/span>Corporate<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuros Biosciences: 2026 guidance raised after 40% nine-month sales growth<\/h4>\n

Kuros, which sells the MagnetOs bone graft used to fuse vertebrae in spine surgery, raised its 2026 guidance after 9M 26 sales rose 40% to USD 141.8M and profitability improved. It now expects 2026 sales growth of 36\u201340% (previously at least 35%) and an adjusted EBITDA margin above 14.5% (previously about 14%). Cash doubled to USD 19.6M from USD 9.7M at the end of June 2026.<\/p>\n

\n\n
9M 2026 results \u00b7 USD M<\/caption>\n
<\/th>9M 2026<\/th>9M 2025<\/th>Change<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
Sales<\/th>141.8<\/td>101.1<\/td>+40%<\/td><\/tr>\n
EBITDA<\/th>13.5<\/td>7.4<\/td>+81%<\/td><\/tr>\n
Adj. EBITDA<\/th>20.6<\/td>12.2<\/td>+68%<\/td><\/tr>\n
Adj. EBITDA margin<\/th>14.5%<\/td>12.1%<\/td>+2.4 pts<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>\n

Adjusted EBITDA excludes Fibrin-PTH Phase 2a costs, share-based pay and temporary tariff costs.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\n
2026 guidance<\/caption>\n
<\/th>New<\/th>Previous<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
Sales growth<\/th>36\u201340%<\/td>\u226535%<\/td><\/tr>\n
Adj. EBITDA margin<\/th>>14.5%<\/td>\u224814%<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table>\n

Previous: set with the FY 25 results, Mar 2026; confirmed with the H1 26 results, Aug 2026.<\/p><\/div>\n

\nIn plain words<\/summary>\n

What happened.<\/strong> Kuros, a Swiss company, sells MagnetOs, a man-made material that helps bones grow together after spine surgery. It now expects sales to grow 36\u201340% in 2026, more than the \u201cat least 35%\u201d it had promised.<\/p>\n

Why it matters.<\/strong> Sales in the first nine months of 2026 were about USD 142 million, up 40%, and profit grew faster than sales. A new factory in the US, its biggest market, started production in October 2026.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

For more detailed information, see 5mn Research \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n

Sweden<\/h3>\n
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Modus Therapeutics \u00b7 MODTX<\/span>Clinical<\/span><\/p>\n

Modus Therapeutics: sevuparin trial enrolment paused after a serious adverse event<\/h4>\n

Modus paused enrolment in the repeat-dosing part of its Phase IIa trial of sevuparin in anaemia caused by chronic kidney disease (CKD), after one treated patient had a serious adverse event. It was reported as a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction: a link to the drug cannot be ruled out, but none has been established. No other patient was on treatment at the time, and the pause is the company\u2019s own precautionary decision, not a regulator\u2019s. Sevuparin is designed to lower hepcidin, a hormone that inflammation raises and that blocks the iron needed to make red blood cells.<\/p>\n

\nIn plain words<\/summary>\n

What happened.<\/strong> Modus, a small Swedish company, has stopped adding patients to a study of its drug sevuparin. One patient who received the drug had a serious medical problem, and it is not yet known whether the drug caused it.<\/p>\n

Why it matters.<\/strong> The drug is meant to treat anaemia, a lack of red blood cells, in people with kidney disease. The first key results now come in early 2027 instead of around the new year. The company has money until the second quarter of 2027, so the delay leaves little time between the results and the end of its cash.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

Context<\/span> Unscheduled. On a preliminary assessment, the proof-of-concept readout moves from around the turn of the year to Q1 2027, while cash, including a September share issue, lasts into Q2 2027; Modus will update its financing assessment with its Q3 report on 24 November. The study plans 50\u201360 patients across its two parts; anaemia is common in CKD and worsens as the disease progresses. The delay brings the readout close to the end of the company\u2019s current cash runway.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

Iceland<\/h3>\n
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Alvotech \u00b7 ALVO<\/span>Regulatory<\/span><\/p>\n

Alvotech: first filing worldwide for a biosimilar of Eylea 8 mg<\/h4>\n

Alvotech and its European partner Advanz Pharma have filed with the EMA for AVT29, a proposed biosimilar of the high-dose (8 mg) form of Eylea (aflibercept), the eye injection for retinal disease sold by Regeneron and Bayer; they say it is the first such filing worldwide. The 8 mg dose lets some patients wait 16 weeks between injections in the eye instead of 8, and it made up about 57% of Eylea\u2019s combined sales by value in Q2 2026, up from about 30% a year earlier, so a copy of the 2 mg form alone covers a shrinking part of the market. AVT29 was filed as an extension of the EU approval of Mynzepli, Alvotech\u2019s copy of the 2 mg form, granted in August 2025; regulators have not yet confirmed biosimilarity.<\/p>\n

\nIn plain words<\/summary>\n

What happened.<\/strong> Alvotech, an Icelandic company, makes biosimilars, near-copies of biological drugs. It asked the EU drug regulator (EMA) to approve a copy of the high-dose form of Eylea, an injection for eye diseases. It says nobody has filed such a copy before.<\/p>\n

Why it matters.<\/strong> With the high dose, some patients need an injection in the eye only every 16 weeks instead of every 8. It already brings in more than half of Eylea\u2019s sales. Approval is not certain: the regulator must first agree that the copy matches the original.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

Context<\/span> Unscheduled: no filing date had been announced. Advanz holds the European sales rights (semi-exclusive in Germany and France), and Alvotech develops and supplies the product. The filing comes nine days after the FDA closed its July inspection of Alvotech\u2019s Reykjavik plant as \u201cvoluntary action indicated\u201d, clearing the way for US decisions on four pending biosimilars, including its aflibercept. A comparative Phase 3 trial of AVT29 in diabetic macular oedema is due to read out in mid-2027, according to Ophthalmology Times.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

Deutschland<\/h3>\n
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Heidelberg Pharma \u00b7 HPHA<\/span>Corporate<\/span><\/p>\n

Heidelberg Pharma: nine-month figures, guidance and funding to mid-2027 confirmed<\/h4>\n

Heidelberg Pharma, which develops antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) carrying amanitin, a toxin from the death cap mushroom, reported nine-month (December\u2013August) sales revenue of \u20ac9.3M, up from \u20ac1.4M, and a net loss of \u20ac8.7M (prior year \u20ac21.1M). Cash was \u20ac19.8M at the end of August; the company says it is funded until at least mid-2027 and confirmed its 2026 guidance, including year-end cash of \u20ac11\u201315M. Its lead drug HDP-101, which targets the BCMA protein on myeloma cells, produced responses in 42% of patients (13 of 31) at the higher doses of its Phase I, in patients whose myeloma had already been treated with the three main drug classes. The Phase IIa part is recruiting in Europe and the US.<\/p>\n

\nIn plain words<\/summary>\n

What happened.<\/strong> Heidelberg Pharma, a German company, attaches a mushroom toxin to antibodies that seek out cancer cells. It published figures for its first nine months and kept its forecasts for the year.<\/p>\n

Why it matters.<\/strong> The company has about \u20ac20 million in the bank and says this lasts until at least mid-2027. Its main drug is for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. In an early trial, about four in ten patients whose cancer had come back after the usual drugs responded at the higher doses. A larger test of the drug is now under way; early results like these are not yet proof that it works.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

Context<\/span> In line with earlier guidance: the 2026 outlook and the mid-2027 funding horizon are unchanged from the half-year report in July. Cash fell from \u20ac24.9M at the end of May, with an average monthly outflow of \u20ac1.3M before financing effects, after a cost-cutting programme that lowered costs by about 30%. A further $25M from royalty buyer HealthCare Royalty is due if the FDA approves partner Telix\u2019s imaging agent TLX250-Px (Zircaix), which Telix plans to resubmit; the preclinical ADCs HDP-103 and HDP-104 are offered for partnering.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

Belgium<\/h3>\n
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Lakefront Biotherapeutics \u00b7 LKFT<\/span>Deal<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakefront Biotherapeutics: sells preclinical CAR-T programmes to Armed Cell Therapeutics<\/h4>\n

Lakefront, formerly Galapagos, sold its preclinical multi-targeting and \u201carmed\u201d CAR-T cell programmes, which came with its 2022 purchase of AboundBio, to Armed Cell Therapeutics for \u20ac8M upfront, up to $230M in milestones and a low-single-digit royalty. Lakefront says the wind-down of its cell therapy business is now substantially complete, removing a business it had decided to exit.<\/p>\n

\nIn plain words<\/summary>\n

What happened.<\/strong> Lakefront, the Belgian company formerly called Galapagos, sold early-stage work on CAR-T cells, immune cells engineered to attack disease. It gets \u20ac8 million now and could get more if the programmes succeed.<\/p>\n

Why it matters.<\/strong> Lakefront had already decided to close its cell therapy business. The sale finishes that job. The amount is small for a company with about \u20ac2.2 billion in cash and investments. Its focus is now on a drug for autoimmune diseases, where the body\u2019s immune system attacks itself.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n

Context<\/span> Partly expected: in August Lakefront guided that the wind-down would be substantially complete by the end of Q3 2026, but the sale was not announced in advance. The \u20ac8M is small against financial investments and cash of \u20ac2.24B at the end of June and year-end cash guidance of \u20ac1.975\u20132.05B. Lakefront now focuses on immunology, led by gamgertamig, a BCMAxCD3 T-cell engager for autoimmune diseases, with registrational studies expected in 2027.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n