Formation Bio’s Post

Despite the challenging fundraising environment, we are witnessing significant investments in AI-enabled drug discovery and development. Following Sanofi's recent partnership with OpenAI and Formation Bio (that some of you may remember as TrialSpark), the latter has taken a notable step by securing nearly $400M in their Series D funding round. This funding, aimed at enhancing their AI platform and in-licensing new product candidates, highlights the growing confidence in AI-driven healthcare innovations. This deal, much like the recent emergence of Xaira Therapeutics from stealth mode, highlights the latest fierce battleground among major VC funds. With A16Z backing Formation Bio, and Lightspeed and NEA investing in Xaira, the competition to lead in AI-powered biotech innovations is intensifying. Sequoia has even decided to back both ventures. #AIinHealthcare #BiotechFunding #Innovation #VentureCapital #FormationBio #XairaTherapeutics https://lnkd.in/eq6N2p4U https://lnkd.in/eNZ6vEtD

"𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲," notes Matthias Kromayer in the new print edition of transkript, reflecting on the evolving landscape in biotech and VC. As we celebrate industry resilience, the recent Novartis bid for MorphoSys is an example of how pharmaceutical giants seek external innovation to drive growth. This underscores a trend in the biotech sector, signaling new opportunities. 📈 👉🏼 Want to know more? Andera Partners, MIG Capital, and TVM Capital Life Science weigh in on what lies ahead in the biotech sector for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: https://lnkd.in/gCT_rktF #Biotech #Innovation #VentureCapital #MIGCapital

From Potential to Patients: Can this powerhouse of entrepreneurs unlock the true power of AI in drug development? ...The company, which has about 50 employees today at sites in Seattle and California, was co-founded by two of biotech’s biggest venture capitalists, Bob Nelsen of ARCH Venture Partners and Vik Bajaj at Foresite Labs, an incubator affiliated with Foresite Capital. Other investors include F-Prime Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, and SV Angel..... Scott Gottlieb Carolyn Bertozzi Alex Gorsky David Baker Tessier Lavigne Marc #AI #drugdiscovery #biotech #biotechnology #lifesciences #pharma #pharmaceuticals Xaira Therapeutics #biology #proteinscience #funding #financing #innovation #combininglearnings #acceleration

🆕 🤖 💊 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 The #AI in the #drugdiscovery and development race has been going for more than a decade now, and today we see all signs of the sector’s consolidation.  Over the last 6 years, there were more than 30 M&As events in this space. According to the BioPharmaTrend.com report some of the AI-focused deals in drug discovery, #biotech, and #clinicaltrials space included: the 2018 acquisition of Flatiron Health by Roche for $1.9 billion; the 2019 acquisition of Numerate by Valo Health; the 2020 acquisition of Haystack Biosciences by insitro the 2021 acquisition of Prescient Design by Genentech; the 2022 acquisitions of Zymergen by Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. for $300 million; the 2023 acquisition of InstaDeep by BioNTech SE for $549 million and double acquisition of Cyclica and Valence Labs by Recursion Pharmaceuticals for around $90 million combined -- to name just a few.  Some of the notable deals are summarized in the figure below: Read more: https://lnkd.in/dPSj-XDi

I came across this article on BioPharma Dive that provides an in-depth tracker for all the latest merger and acquisition deals shaping the landscape of our industry. Whether you're a professional in the field or simply intrigued by the remarkable advancements happening around us, this tracker is a must-bookmark link. From startups with groundbreaking innovations to established giants forging strategic partnerships, these deals have the potential to redefine how we approach healthcare, research, and drug development. The biotech and pharma sectors are experiencing an unprecedented wave of transformation, with collaborations and integrations paving the way for new therapies, treatments, and breakthroughs. Staying informed about these developments not only benefits your professional insights but also fuels your passion for the future of healthcare. Whether you're an industry insider, investor, researcher, or simply someone enthusiastic about the evolving health landscape, this tracker is your front-row seat to the dynamic world of biotech and pharma. #Biotech #Pharma #MergersAndAcquisitions #HealthcareInnovation #BioPharmaDive #IndustryInsights #M&A

The drug-making industry is seeing a growing disparity between biotech startups and big pharma firms as the former struggles to attract capital while the latter is outperforming the broader stock market. Incredible to read that the combined value of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk climbed from $350 billion in 2021 to $1.2 trillion today. While biotech is seeing some improvement, the ongoing dominance shows how important it is for upstarts like Calocurb to challenge the status quo and provide an alternative to the expensive and inaccessible weight-loss drugs provided by big pharma. #weightloss #obesity #biotech

Tomorrow I will participate at Biospain 2023 in the round table Bridging the gap between academic research and pharmaceutical development – Thanks to Amelia Martín Uranga, Farmaindustria for inviting me, a pleasure to be share the table with Mabel Loza, Jose Miguel Vela, WeLab Barcelona Raúl Martín-Ruiz , Ysios Capital, Maria Fernandez Amgen How to #AcexHealth Scouting substantially improve the use of the effort made in researching new medical devices, diagnostics, drugs, digital health in Andalucia public centers, achieving better success rates in terms of number of projects, time needed and investment required to reach the patient. Overcoming of regulatory preclinical research, in order to increase the interest of the pharmaceutical and medtech industry to engage in the continuation of the development of the project. Before this phase, the industry tends to see excessive risks, but public research centers do not have the resources or adequate mechanisms to address it… For the investment to be effective, first of all, a good selection of projects must be achieved, there must be an appropriate management instrument to continue with the project outside the public research entity (new spin-off company) and later a good informative and commercial action to get the involvement of medtech/ digital health/pharmaceutical companies in the projects with the best expectations. The result of the AcexHealth Scouting effort contributed to this type of initiative and also requires a balanced return that benefits both the business environment and society as a whole. Therefore, we will discuss how the five pillars to achieve a successful translation of results would be: a) sufficient economic funds to finance regulatory preclinical research; b) professional capacity for a good selection of projects; c) creation of new spin-off companies with good management skills and confidence in the project; d) appropriate mechanisms and skills to involve the pharmaceutical industry in successful projects; e) social and industrial balance in the return of expected benefits. Program here: https://lnkd.in/djCmxBVv #BIOSPAIN2023 Biospain Fundación PTS Granada

Quite a few have been saying this for quite some time. The opportunities are huge and the benefits for patients more so. What lies ahead is the ability for companies to bring these to market with the challenges they face. There belies the change required to look at this from a different model to what Pharma is used to. These are game changers, we need to change the game. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/grpiuZvS

Another #biotech superstar company cutting staff after a $300M raise and 2 partnerships with big pharma canceled. It doesn't matter where you are in the process today, it matters where you end. It might be time to start asking hard questions about why these start-ups are dropping like flies. It's not buzzy science that should be invested in, it's great science and the right #valuechain (https://lnkd.in/gqSiF2ZT).

The Pharma M&A landscape has shifted towards smaller and earlier stage Biotech deals. This presents an exciting opportunity for Pharma to tackle more complex disease areas and accelerate access to new technologies and treatments. However, Biotech deals come with many challenges, with a greater ratio of clinical to commercial assets, leaner infrastructure and innovative therapies with new delivery pathways. In this article, we provide an overview of the challenges that these deals present, and how Pharma can proactively overcome these hurdles to realise the full value. Click here to find out more and reach out to us if you like to discuss further: https://lnkd.in/gtry8F6R Christian K. Moldt Suzanne Ellis Sky Milch Thalita Marinho Johnathon Marshall André Sassmannshausen Tom Southwell Jess Abel Eleanor Craggs Katja Haug