South Korean firm AriBio is planning to expand global Phase III trials for its oral Alzheimer’s disease candidate following an IND approval at home. Patient enrolment in a US trial began late last year.

Emerging Company Profile: The US biotech is advancing a pipeline of precision medicines targeting menin and farnesyltransferase for liquid and solid tumors, respectively, building on the work of two pioneering companies in the KRAS space.

Chief development officer William Pao will depart the company in a sudden transition after being recruited from Roche. Pfizer insiders Chris Boshoff and Mikael Dolsten will fill the roles.

Public Company Edition: Private Galderma raised $1bn but said its next likely financing will be an IPO. Also, Azitra went public while Turnstone, Apogee and Sagimet initiated the process; Sutro signed a royalty deal for up to $390m; and despite a follow-on offering mini-surge, cost cuts continue.