Finance Watch

Finance Watch: Did Mid-Summer Usher In A Mega-Round Comeback?

 
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Private Company Edition: Hatteras Venture Partners now has more than $900m under management. Also, in recent $100m-plus VC rounds, Strand Therapeutics raised a $153m series A, ARTBIO revealed a $132m series B and Minghui Pharmaceutical secured a $131m pre-IPO round.

Finance Watch: OrbiMed’s New $1.86bn Fund Offers Financial Alternatives In Tough Market

 
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Public Company Edition: OrbiMed partners Carter Neild and Matthew Rizzo spoke with Scrip about the firm’s fifth royalty and credit fund. Also, Ligand sold $400m worth of notes, BridgeBio’s oncology spinout went public via SPAC merger and raised $261m and Assembly raised $175m.

Finance Watch: Just As The XBI Began Turnaround, Trump Upped MFN Pricing Threats

 
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Public Company Edition: The XBI fund attempted a correction midway through the week ending Aug. 1, but President Trump’s most favored nation drug pricing threats tanked valuations again. In financings, Leads Biolabs raised $189m in a Hong Kong IPO and Abivax closed a $747.5m FOPO.

Finance Watch: MapLight’s Mega-Round Funds Exploration Of Its Cobenfy Competitor

 
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Private Company Edition: MapLight raised a $372.5m series D round to fund ongoing Phase II trials and investigation of additional indications for its M1/M4 muscarinic agonist. Also, Scrip spoke with Modi Ventures about its new fund.


Finance Watch: Sarepta’s Debt Woes Grow With Elevidys Shipment Pause

 
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Public Company Edition: Sarepta restructured after stopping shipments of its Elevidys for some patients to ease future debt pressures, but now it has stopped shipments to all patients. Also, Madrigal secured up to $500m in new debt, Cogent closed a $230m offering and other financings.

Finance Watch: Karyopharm Cuts Jobs In Cash Crunch; Pacira’s Layoffs Attributed To Efficiency

 
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Restructuring Edition: Karyopharm is reducing its workforce by 20% as it seeks alternatives to extend its cash runway, but Pacira’s production improvements created efficiency that necessitate an 8% layoff in manufacturing. Jasper, Century, Sage, Leap and Prothena also cut jobs.

Finance Watch: Two New Venture Capital Funds Provide $600m For Biopharma

 
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Private Company Edition: Catalio raised more than $400m for its fourth health care-focused VC fund, while AN Venture Partners raised $200m for Japan and beyond. In VC financings, among a dearth of mega rounds, Neuron23’s $96.5m series D is the largest round in recent weeks.

Finance Watch: A Mini-Surge In Follow-On Offerings Follows Positive Updates

 
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Public Company Edition: A breakthrough designation, data and deals prompted big follow-on public offerings in late June and early July, including $402.5m for Cidara, $250.8m for Kymera and $230m for Dyne. Also, Revolution Medicines accessed up to $2bn from Royalty Pharma.


Finance Watch: Scorpion Spinout Antares Launches With $177m For Precision Medicines

 
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Private Company Edition: Antares’ lead asset will enter the clinic in 2026 after Lilly committed up to $2.5bn for Scorpion’s Phase I/II PI3Kα inhibitor STX-478. Also, Amplify raised $200m for its first biotech VC fund and Mosanna raised an $80m series A round, among other financings.

Finance Watch: Insmed Cashes In On Positive Data With $750m Offering

 
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Public Company Edition: Insmed raised $750m after reporting positive Phase IIb data in PAH, Cogent accessed up to $400m in new debt, Kelun-Biotech netted $250m in a placement of shares and ADC revealed a $100m private placement. In strategic updates, Recursion cut 20% of its jobs.

Finance Watch: Vera Raises Debt, Taysha And Trevi Price Offering After Big Trial Wins

 
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Public Company Edition: Public company funding in 2025 is down from 2024, but after recent positive data readouts Vera accessed up to $450m in new debt, while Taysha and Trevi grossed $200m and $100m, respectively, in stock offerings. Meanwhile, Keros, Stealth and others cut jobs.

Finance Watch: Is Six The Magic Number? May Sees Half Dozen VC Mega-Rounds

 
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Private Company Edition: Six biopharma companies raised venture capital rounds totaling $100m or more in May, matching the number of mega-rounds in April and March. Among other recent financings, Syndeio launched with $90m and SpyGlass raised a $75m series D round.


Finance Watch: Public Company Fundraising Sank Across The Board In Q1

 
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Public Company Edition: Biomedtracker’s first quarter 2025 financing report shows follow-on offerings, IPOs and PIPEs fell sharply from Q1 of 2024. In recent transactions, Teva sold $2.3bn worth of notes, Regenxbio executed a royalty deal for up to $250m and Aura’s FOPO grossed $75m.

Finance Watch: SV Closes Second Dementia Discovery Fund, Exceeding $250m Goal

 
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Private Company Edition: SV Health Investors revealed the final closing of its second Dementia Discovery Fund. Also, Eikon cut nearly 15% of its staff, Pathos AI raised $365m in series D venture capital and CellCentric completed a $120m series C round, among other financings.

Finance Watch: Prime, Kyverna, Allogene And More Announce Job Cuts

 
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Restructuring Edition: Prime Medicine ended its sole clinical-stage program to prioritize preclinical and partnered programs, cutting 25% of its workforce to extend its cash runway. Meanwhile, earnings season brought workforce reductions at Kyverna, Allogene, Leap and others.

Finance Watch: Funding Alternatives Become The Norm In Tough Public Markets

 
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Public Company Edition: With fewer follow-on offerings, drug developers are pursuing other options. Axsome accessed up to $570m in debt, Evolus obtained $250m in a new credit facility and Abeona raised $155m from a PRV sale, but Apimeds was able to execute a small $13.5m IPO.


Finance Watch: Deerfield Closes $600m-Plus VC Fund; Gates Speeds Up Health Investments

 
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Private Company Edition: Deerfield’s third innovations fund will back therapeutics and other opportunities, the Gates Foundation – a sometimes funder of biotech firms – will spend $200bn over the next 20 years, and NewLimit raised a $130m series B round, among other financings.

Finance Watch: Unity Lays Off All Employees As It Evaluates Alternatives

 
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Restructuring Edition: Unity unveiled more Phase IIb data for lead asset UBX1325 along with plans to shed its workforce while seeking a partner for it and other drugs. Also, Ono is consolidating US employees at one site, Entrada is cutting its workforce by 20% and other recent strategic shifts.

Finance Watch: Biohaven Gains Up To $600m In Fresh Capital

 
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Public Company Edition: Biohaven secured $250m up front from Oberland Capital to support its future US troriluzole launch after pulling its EU filing. Also, Procaps arranged $130m in private equity and Rezolute grossed $96.9m in a rare follow-on offering, among other financings.

Finance Watch: Investors Push ESSA Pharma, Elevation Oncology To Wind Down

 
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Restructuring Edition: ESSA and Elevation are reviewing strategic alternatives after trial failures, but each has an investor urging them to liquidate. Also, Third Harmonic and Vincerx are winding down, while Keros and Tempest are assessing options, but Opthea and OPM are cutting jobs.