Rivus Pharmaceuticals Inc. already had its lead Controlled Metabolic Accelerator (CMA), known as HU6, in a Phase IIa clinical trial last year when it raised $35m in series A venture capital. Now, with data in hand from that study in patients with obesity, the company has closed a $132m series B round to advance HU6 in the clinic and its pipeline of additional CMA candidates across a range of cardio-metabolic conditions.
Finance Watch: Rivus Raises $132m In Series B Cash To Fund Obesity Drug Trials
Theravance Buys Out GSK, Repurchases Additional Stock
VC funding slowed recently, but public company financings kept up a brisk pace with follow-on public offerings for Allakos and Alpine, private placements for Ventyx and Syros, and Albireo’s royalty deal. In restructuring updates, Biogen raised $592m in a real estate deal and Acerus is assessing options.

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The four-year-old firm said it plans to advance programs toward the clinic from the funding round, which comes just over a year after signing two major pharma partnerships.
Private Company Edition: The latest group of drug developers to announce venture capital financings is remarkable for its geographic diversity, from Character Biosciences’ $93m series B round in the US to Augustine’s $85m series B in Belgium to a $29.2m series C for Aculys in Japan.
Kyoto-based venture moves HQ to California to expand R&D and business outreach for its regulatory T-cell technology, as it raises around $46m in public and private funding.
The Belgian firm banks nearly €77.7m to push its Charcot-Marie-Tooth to proof-of-concept.
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In this week's episode: Merck & Co. licenses Hengrui’s lipid lowerer; Novo gets United’s triple G obesity drug; J&J plans major US manufacturing investments; approval for GSK’s novel antibiotic; and a call for more aggressive Korean M&A activity.
Plus deals involving GV20/Mitsubishi Tanabe, Kaken/Alumis, AstraZeneca/Alteogen and deal terminations involving Clover/Gavi Alliance and Rhythm/RareStone.
The obesity market leader has unveiled its second deal in days, paying $75m upfront for a potential first-in-class ACSL5 inhibitor, while the deal also provides some respite for Lexicon.