Start-Ups & SMEs
Among the major topics at the conference this week will be the impact on global biopharma of the upcoming Trump administration, frenetic activity in the obesity field, and hopes of increased funding for UK biotech companies.
Medixci’s Nick Williams told attendees at BIO-Europe that it was a shame that promising biotechs head to the NASDAQ as soon as possible. He and called for a change in culture from investors and for them to back the continent’s start-ups with proper funding.
Emerging Company Profile: Volastra is testing two KIF18A inhibitors in early clinical trials in ovarian cancer, backed by investors like Polaris Partners and ARCH Ventures.
It is chasing Summit and other companies in the PD1/VEGF field, but Ottimo’s CEO David Epstein believes it has a unique drug design – plus a clear plan for a big pharma buyout
The deal, potentially worth more than $1.3bn, includes Modifi’s MGMT-targeting technology, which it hopes can provide a biomarker-based approach for glioblastoma multiforme.
Septerna’s plans shows companies are once again daring to undertake IPOs without Phase I data – though share movements this year show many face a rough ride on the public markets.
Emerging Company Profile: The Maryland-based biotech is working on a functional cure for type 1 diabetes that is similar to Vertex’s VX-880 – but with some key differences.
Data from Evaluate show that biopharma venture capital investment fell from $7.95bn in Q2 to $6.59bn in Q3, but both outpaced every quarter in 2023 as the financial market recovery continues.
Purespring has just raised $105m from an investor syndicate who are betting it can develop the first gene therapy for kidney disease and learn from setbacks experienced in the space.
Emerging from ARCH, City Therapeutics has launched with $135m in series A funding and the Alnylam founder as its executive chairman.
Judo Bio, incubated for three years by Atlas Venture to deliver siRNA and other genetic medicines to the kidney, came out of stealth mode with $100m and new CEO Rajiv Patni.
The Swedish company is well positioned, and well financed with a bit of help from the French major, to push its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis hopeful buloxibutid closer to the regulatory finishing line.
Private Company Edition: ARCH raised more than $3bn for its eighth fund, Frazier added $630m to its public fund that also can back crossover rounds, DCVC’s third biotech fund totaled $400m and Asabys raised €180m ($200m) for its second fund. Also, Aktis closed a $175m series B round.
An upfront payment of $110m from BMS has come just in time for Prime Medicine, but its real test will be the first Phase I data, expected early next year.
Emerging Company Profile: Danish group Vesper Bio is advancing an oral sortilin inhibitor in frontotemporal dementia, and is aiming to get to market in a similar timeframe to its much larger rivals.
Private Company Edition: Vicebio plans to take a combo vaccine into Phase I with its $100m series B venture capital round. Also, Nura Bio raised $68m to boost its series A total to $141m and George Church-founded GC Therapeutics launched with $75m, among other recent VC deals.
MBX, Zenas and Bicara delivered positive returns in their first days of trading, but that has not always translated to good long-term results for drug developers that launched US IPOs this year.
Private Company Edition: Bain will invest across private and public drug, device, diagnostic and tool companies. Also, Candid debuted with $370m in initial funding, Superluminal closed a $120m series A round, PanTera raised €93m ($102.4m) in series A cash and F2G brought in $100m.
ArsenalBio closed one of the largest VC rounds so far in 2024, raising $325m in series C funding, while Vaxcyte grossed $1.3bn in a follow-on offering. Also, Circle Pharma closed a $90m series D round and Jazz priced an $850m note sale, but IN8bio revealed a prioritization plan and job cuts.
HAYA, a pioneer in lncRNA, is teaming up with Lilly to discover novel targets and programmable RNA therapies for obesity and metabolic disorders.