The best news in biotech, August 10 - 17

Hello!

We saw some big rounds last week with $700M raised over 7 financing rounds, two new life science and healthcare focused VC rounds, and two >$1B collaborations, as well as one merger and a lot of activity in the clinic.

Enjoy!

🚀🧬 New Biotech Launches & Private Raises… 

• Kriya Therapeutics, Inc. , a biotech based in CA, USA, raised over $430 million in a Series C funding round. The company is developing a portfolio of gene therapies focusing on ophthalmology, neurology, and metabolic diseases. The funds will support the clinical translation of Kriya's pipeline and the scaling of its engineering, computational, and manufacturing platforms. Link
• Celea Therapeutics, a biotech based in MA, USA, was launched by PureTech Health . Funding details have not been disclosed. The company's mission is to transform the treatment of respiratory diseases, with a lead program, deupirfenidone (LYT-100), a Phase 3-ready candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic and inflammatory lung conditions. Link
• SetPoint Medical , a biotech based in CA, USA, raised $140 million in a private financing round. The company is a commercial-stage medical technology company dedicated to improving care for people with chronic autoimmune diseases. The funds will be used to support the commercialization of the SetPoint System for rheumatoid arthritis and advance the company's pipeline. Link
• Gameto , a biotech based in TX, USA, raised a $44 million Series C funding round. The company is redefining reproductive care and is currently recruiting for a pivotal Phase 3 trial for its stem cell therapy. The funds will be used to help redefine reproductive care and for the pivotal stem cell Phase 3 trial. Link
• Jocasta Neurosciences Inc. , a biotech based in AZ, USA, raised a $35 million Series A funding round. The company is advancing a longevity protein program for managing cognitive impairment. The funds will be used to advance its longevity protein program. Link
• Tahoe Therapeutics , a biotech based in CA, USA, raised a $30 million funding round. The company is building the foundational dataset for Virtual Cell Models. The funds will be used to build this dataset, which will include 1 billion single-cell datapoints and map 1 million drug-patient interactions. Link
• Mabylon AG , a biotech based in Switzerland, raised a €31.8 million funding round. The company is advancing its peanut allergy lead program to clinical proof-of-concept. The funds will be used for this purpose and to further develop its discovery and pre-clinical programs. Link

💼💸 New VC funds… 

• Hatteras Venture Partners has secured more than $200 million for two new funds, Hatteras Venture Partners VII and Hatteras Opportunity Fund I. This milestone coincides with the firm's 25th anniversary and its 100th investment. The funds will continue to support seed and early-stage companies in the biotechnology, medical technology, and health technology fields. Link
• To bolster Chicago's position as a biotechnology center, Portal Innovations has launched a new $100 million fund. This fund, the firm's third, will provide pre-seed and seed funding for biotech startups, particularly those originating from universities. The initiative is seen as crucial, especially with potential reductions in federal funding for biomedical research. Link

🤝🔬 Collaborations & Partnerships… 

• Bayer , a global life science company based in Germany, and Kumquat Biosciences Inc. , a clinical-stage biotech company based in CA, USA, have entered a collaboration to develop and commercialize Kumquat's KRAS G12D inhibitor. This collaboration will focus on developing a novel treatment for pancreatic, colorectal, and lung cancers, with Kumquat leading the initial phase and Bayer handling later development and commercialization. The deal is worth up to $1.3 billion in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties. Link
• Superluminal Medicines Inc. , a drug discovery company based in MA, USA, and Eli Lilly and Company , a pharmaceutical company based in IN, USA, have entered a collaboration to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases and obesity. The collaboration will leverage Superluminal's AI-driven platform to target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The deal is worth up to $1.3 billion, including an upfront payment, equity investment, and future milestone payments. Link
• Eli Lilly and Company and the UK Government, the central governing authority of the United Kingdom, have launched a collaboration to improve obesity care. The £85 million program will fund a UK-wide competition for NHS organizations to pilot innovative approaches to obesity treatment, aiming to generate real-world evidence to inform future care models. Link

🔄💼 M&A… 

• Norgine , a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in the Netherlands, is to acquire theravia , a biotech based in France developing therapies for rare and debilitating conditions. The deal includes its lead programs SIKLOS and ORPHACOL, which are currently marketed. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed. Link

⚕️🌟 Positive clinical development updates… 

• GSK announced positive data from the Phase 3 (EAGLE-1) trial of its oral antibiotic uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhoea drug gepotidacin. The trial met its primary endpoint, showing that gepotidacin was non-inferior to a standard combination therapy. Link
• Pfizer announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 EV-303 trial of its antibody-drug conjugate and PD-1 inhibitor muscle-invasive bladder cancer drug PADCEV™ plus KEYTRUDA™. The trial met its primary endpoint of event-free survival and the key secondary endpoint of overall survival. Link
• Novo Nordisk announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 REDEFINE 2 trial of its injectable obesity drug CagriSema. The trial met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant and superior weight loss at 68 weeks versus placebo. Link
• MSD announced plans to initiate Phase 3 trials for its investigational once-monthly oral HIV prevention pill MK-8527. The decision to move to Phase 3 was supported by positive results from a Phase 2 trial. Link
• Sanofi announced positive data from the Phase 2 trial of its BTK inhibitor IgG4-related disease drug rilzabrutinib. The results showed that treatment with rilzabrutinib for 52 weeks led to a reduction in disease flare and other disease markers. Link
• AAVantgarde Bio announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation for its gene therapy Stargardt disease drug AAVB-039. The company is currently conducting a Phase 1/2 trial for this drug. Link
• Nanoscope Therapeutics Inc. announced the publication of data from the Phase 2 STARLIGHT trial of its gene-agnostic therapy Stargardt disease drug MCO-010. The company is planning to initiate a Phase 3 trial. Link
• Response Pharmaceuticals announced positive top-line results from the Phase 2 study of its small molecule inhibitor post-GLP-1 management drug RDX-002. The trial met its primary and multiple secondary endpoints. Link
• Genmab announced that the Phase 3 trial of its bispecific antibody relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma drug epcoritamab in combination with R2 met both of its primary endpoints. Link
• RemeGen Biosciences announced that its dual BAFF/APRIL inhibitor primary Sjögren's disease drug telitacicept achieved the primary endpoint in a Phase 3 clinical study. Link
• Novartis announced that its fully human monoclonal antibody primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) drug ianalumab met its primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase III trial. Link

That's all for this week, thanks for tuning in. Subscribe for weekly alerts covering the latest positive news in the biotech industry delivered to your inbox every Monday ⬇️🔔