Financing
Public Company Edition: Aardvark Therapeutics’ US IPO – the fifth of 2025 – will fund a Phase III trial in Prader-Willi syndrome and other studies. Also, Sarepta closed on a $600m revolving credit facility and Biogen entered into a funding agreement with Royalty Pharma for up to $250m.
The Swedish company is celebrating approval for the first treatment for MCT8 deficiency
Private Company Edition: Abcuro’s series C venture capital round will fund its lead drug through pivotal results, filing with the US FDA and launch preparations. Also, AdvanCell completed a $112m series C round, Lutris Pharma raised $30m and Imvax closed a $29m financing.
Restructuring Edition: Third Harmonic cut its workforce by half based on positive Phase I data for THB335. Also, encouraged by early Phase IIa results in alopecia areata, Q32 Bio is focusing on bempikibart. In addition, X4, Turnstone, Fractyl, Cargo and others recently revealed layoffs.
Highlights from the BIO CEO & Investor Conference, held in New York 10-11 February, include the impact of US political changes, Chinese companies entering the obesity race, and IPO pitfalls.
Large headcount reduction and ending preclinical programs may give Inventiva runway to report Phase III data for lanifibranor that are expected during the second half of 2026.
Summit Therapeutics hit the stock market heights in 2024, along with a handful of biotech with novel therapies and platforms, while Moderna was dragged down by shrinking COVID-19 vaccine sales.
Sionna essentially doubled its cash on hand with its initial public offering to go up against a formidable competitor in cystic fibrosis with novel medicines applicable to a broad population.
Despite a big market opportunity with an underserved patient population, investment in the therapeutic area lags and investor perception is a pressure point.
Public Company Edition: A three-per-month IPO pace would top the 25 first-time biopharma offerings in 2024. Also, Akero grossed $402.5m and 89bio raised $250m in follow-on offerings that cashed in on Akero’s Phase IIb MASH readout. Immunovant raised $450m in a private placement.
The company believes its divalent small interfering RNA technology can boost CNS penetration and durability and aims to have its first two programs in the clinic by 2026.
A lack of big pharma licensing deals and IPOs created problems, but newer UK biotech companies moved ahead in 2024 thanks to increased venture capital funding, finds a new report from the BIA.
Degron and TargetRx’s targeted protein degrader programs helped the firms garner new venture capital backing, while VelaVigo and Conjustar were among the others bagging new funding for antibody- and peptide-drug conjugates.
Backed by Versant Ventures, Helicore will pursue optimized therapy for underserved obesity patients with an antibody that directly antagonizes GIP and plans for antibody conjugate therapies.
Private Company Edition: Given the number of start-ups with clinical-stage assets and investors’ concerns that programs are appropriately funded, the trend toward $100m-plus VC rounds is likely to continue. Also, Lilly and a16z launched a new VC fund with up to $500m.
Evaluate data from the fourth quarter of 2024 show another period of venture capital fundraising that beat each quarter of 2023, as $100m-plus mega-rounds surged.
The China/US hematologic cancer-focused firm said the offering should give it runway into 2028, perhaps time enough to bring its top two pipeline assets to market in the US.
Scrip used the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and Biotech Showcase to speak with investors and gauge the health of the capital markets this year.
Septerna is the best performer of newly launched firms from Q4, with more initial public offerings fuelled by potential interest rate cuts hoped for in 2025.
The Swiss firm’s plans to go public are a boost for the antibiotics space and for hopes that the continent’s biotechs may follow their US counterparts and find financial solutions on the capital markets.