After a long winter, the start of summer is ushering in some much-needed sunshine, warmer weather and, for a handful of biopharma companies, refreshed branding.
In the last week, a trio of companies across the industry have unveiled either slightly tweaked or completely new names, including the drugmakers formerly known as Coherus BioSciences and ViGeneron, and certain businesses within Fujifilm’s life sci group.
In the case of the latter, Fujifilm Irvine Scientific, which has been around since 1970 and manufactures cell culture media for life sci customers, is now going by Fujifilm Biosciences; the name took effect this week, though the legal entity name change won’t be effective until the start of next year, according to Fujifilm’s release.
Another segment of the Japanese conglomerate has also undergone a makeover: Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, a contract development and manufacturing organization that has been under the Fujifilm umbrella since 2011, will henceforth be known simply as Fujifilm Biotechnologies, though its legal name won’t officially change.
The name tweaks streamline Fujifilm’s offerings to the life sciences industry, where it operates under the tagline “Partners for Life,” Toshihisa Iida, general manager of the company’s Life Sciences Strategy Headquarters, said in the release.
The life sci group also includes Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical and Fujifilm Toyama Chemical.
“By redefining our Life Sciences Group, we also support Fujifilm’s growth strategy for the life sciences sector, where we believe that unifying under a single banner will simplify engagement for our global network of customers across the entire product development and biomanufacturing spectrum,” Iida said. “It is an opportunity to ensure the teams in all our Life Sciences companies share the same strategy and strong sense of purpose.”
Coherus, meanwhile, has swapped out its BioSciences suffix for something more specific: It’s now operating as Coherus Oncology, which the company said more closely aligns with its now-exclusive focus on developing immuno-oncology medicines.
Coherus sold off the last of its biosimilars portfolio in deals inked throughout 2024. That left it free to devote all its attention to making novel cancer drugs centered around Loqtorzi, its anti-PD-1 antibody that earned FDA approval to treat nasopharyngeal cancer in late 2023.
“The field of cancer immunotherapy has been reinvigorated by the promise and power of combination therapies. Coherus Oncology has the expertise and pipeline to become a significant player in this dynamic space and unlock the potential of these next-generation therapeutic approaches,” board member Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, Ph.D., said in the rebrand announcement.
Finally, as of Thursday, ViGeneron has become VeonGen Therapeutics. The company said the new name better reflects its current status as a clinical-stage genetic medicine company.
VeonGen has two gene therapies in clinical development, one aimed at Stargardt disease and other ABCA4-related retinal disorders and the other targeting retinitis pigmentosa caused by CNGA1 mutations—all conditions with no currently approved treatments.
“This rebranding reflects our journey—from a platform innovator to a clinical-stage company with two gene therapies in the clinic. With VG801 and VG901 progressing in clinical trials and our platforms demonstrating robust translational potential, we are well positioned to expand the frontier of genetic medicine in ophthalmology and beyond,” Caroline Man Xu, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO, said in the release.