Luka Vukoje’s Post

Stories making headlines today in the biopharma industry: Acorda Therapeutics, a renowned biotech company, has declared bankruptcy amidst legal and financial difficulties since 2017. The company has decided to sell off its assets, including a proprietary Multiple Sclerosis drug, to Merz Therapeutics for a sum of $185 million. In other sector news, Roivant has shared uplifting results from their Phase 2 eye disease drug trial, conducted in partnership with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Capitalizing on this success, Roivant is launching an unprecedented $1.5 billion share buyback program. However, contrasting fortunes struck Gritstone as its Phase 2 study for a novel cancer vaccine delivered mixed results, leading to a significant drop in its stock value. Despite the recent upset, Gritstone remains optimistic and is committed to moving forward with public stock offerings and advanced Phase 3 trials. Meanwhile, Praia Health, a healthcare startup pioneering in improving patient engagement with healthcare systems, managed to secure $20 million in a recent Series A funding round. The promising venture seeks to leverage this substantial capital influx to develop groundbreaking products that seamlessly connect consumers with vital healthcare services. In the corporate world, Zymeworks revealed the removal of CFO Christopher Astle, with CEO Kenneth Galbraith set to fill the position on a temporary basis. Concurrently, Gilead confirmed the expansion of its existing deal with Nurix. Lastly, Verve Therapeutics has decided to hit pause on its leading gene editing program following an adverse safety event. In its pursuit of safety and proficiency, the firm plans to shift gears towards a similar program that employs a different type of lipid delivery mechanism. #pharma #biotech #topstories #biodatastudio

Private Biotech investment is on the steady rise reaching new highs in April with $3.1 billion raised that is surpassing previous three months activity according to Labiotech.eu report (https://lnkd.in/gUY2_xc7). In terms of geography, Europe and Asia-Pacific are trailing US. Among specific therapeutic areas Biotech companies developing Oncology assets are attracting largest investment that went solely to US and Asia-Pacific regions. This brings a question if European Biotech companies developing Oncology drugs face some unique challenges despite a very active recent trend of M&A. During 2023 there was high activity involving European based Biotechs with oncology pipeline. Interest in ADCs drove a licensing deal between Synaffix and MacroGenics, followed by the acquisition of Synaffix by Lonza. In addition, radiopharmaceutical Biotech ITM Isotope Technologies Munich raised one of the largest private investment rounds in European Biotech in 2023. In 2024 MorphoSys was acquired by Novartis, RedX Pharma was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Autolus Therapeutics was acquired by Bio NTech SE in February. Interesting to follow trends for Europe and see if there is influence of fragmented nature of the EU healthcare market making drug adoption prediction complex, possibly more risk-averse approach of EU-based buyers, as well as evolution of global reimbursement market on financial dynamics of the EU Biotech activity. #Biotech #Europe #US #Asia-pacific #M&A #private funding #therapeutic focus #oncology #ADC #radiopharmaceuticals

Buy vs R&D: the Pharma version of Open Innovation Pharmaceutical companies look to VC startup portfolios for M&A.   Amgen, Mayo Clinic and AbbVie are set to notch up an exit after fellow investor Merck agreed to buy neurodegenerative disease drug developer Caraway Therapeutics, Inc. for up to $610m, a handy return for a company that had only revealed $23m in funding.  The deal came the same week as Boehringer Ingelheim agreed a $490m purchase of one of its portfolio companies, cancer therapy developer T3 Pharma. As the IPO market continues to stagnate, we might see more deals where pharma firms explore VC and CVC portfolios for acquisitions rather than just backing another funding round. #VC #startup #scaleup #openinnovation #pharma Mind the Bridge

Biotech/Pharma Industry Update Time 👨🔬 🚨 👩🔬 Below are some exciting updates which have taken place within the Biotech/Pharma industry over the last week 💥💥💥 🍾 - Totus Medicines have successfully closed a $66 Million Series B funding & also have named Nassim Usman as their new CEO. ✅ 🍾 - Rain Oncology have announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Pathos will acquire them for $1.16 in cash per share plus a non-tradeable contingent value. ✅ 🍾 - Spyre Therapeutics, a biotechnology spinout working on antibody drugs for diseases of the gut, announced Friday a $180 Million fundraising from a group of blue-chip investors.✅ 🍾 - Moderna & Merck Group reported last week that their personalized melanoma cancer vaccine plus Keytruda approach delivered “continued improvement” in reducing risk of disease recurrence or death, based on three-year data from a mid-stage trial.✅ 🍾 - Electra Therapeutics have appointed Kathy Dong as their new CEO, she will replacing current CEO Adam Rosenthal who will still remain the CEO of Star Therapeutics, the company that spun out Electra.✅ 🍾 - Encellin a San Francisco based biotechnology company developing a cell encapsulation platform with an initial focus on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), have successfully closed a $9.9 Million financing round - CEO (Crystal Nyitray).✅ 🍾 - Novo Holdings founded biotech Hoba Therapeutics have raised $25 Million in Series A financing to bankroll its investigational medicines for pain and hearing loss.✅ 🍾 - Vertex Pharmaceuticals have entered a license agreement with Editas Medicine to use the latter company’s Cas9 gene editing technology. Vertex will pay $50 Million upfront, with an additional contingent $50m payment, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.✅ 🍾 - Immunotherapy biotech EvolveImmune Therapeutics have raised $37 Million in a financing round, backed by big names like Pfizer & its newest investor, Bristol Myers Squibb.✅ #Elixir #IndustryUpdates #Biotechnology #Pharma #News #FDA #Mergers #ClinicalTrials #Approvals #Announcements

🚀🔬 It’s time to take a look at the biggest private biotech investments of July 2024! 💰 Last month, the companies Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, Beacon Therapeutics, and Third Arc Bio bagged the biggest investment rounds. 🎯 And, just as in June, oncology and central nervous system players attracted the biggest funding rounds overall. 🧠💉 📍Plus, in terms of location, North America and Europe also achieved the same amount of fundraising rounds as they did in June, with 15 and 11 respectively. 🌍💼 Read our latest article to find out more details! 🔍 https://lnkd.in/d4xze2x7 #biotech #investments #pharma #oncology #innovation #funding #biotech2024 #healthcare CatalYm GmbH | Scorpion Therapeutics | NGM Biopharmaceuticals | Myricx Bio | Asceneuron SA | Autobahn Therapeutics, Inc. | SciRhom | Confo Therapeutics | GRO Biosciences | AIRNA | SmartCella Holding AB | AusperBio | Rona Therapeutics | CellCentric | ReviR Therapeutics | LTZ Therapeutics

It’s time to find out who bagged the biggest private biotech investments in June 2024! 💰 The biggest funding rounds went to the companies Formation Bio, ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE, and Marea Therapeutics. 📈 Meanwhile, around the world, oncology and central nervous system players attracted the biggest funding rounds overall. 🌍 Read our latest article to find out more about biotech’s biggest private investments in June, as we break down the investments by location and funding type, and compare June’s fundraising to previous months. 💡 https://lnkd.in/dYvuBVt9 #biotechinvestments #oncologyresearch #biotechfunding #healthcareinnovation #investmenttrends #globalbiotech #lifesciences Santa Ana Bio, Inc. | Alzheon, Inc. | Preserving Future Memories | Bright Peak Therapeutics | iOnctura | InduPro | Exsilio Therapeutics | Elion Therapeutics | Enveda Biosciences | Iambic Therapeutics | Spur Therapeutics | āshibio, Inc | Adcytherix | Envisagenics | Vilya | Frontier Medicines | Augustine Therapeutics | GPN Vaccines

💲 Ratio Therapeutics On BMS Investment, Radiopharma R&D Trends, AI Use ⭐ Who should hear this? BD and competitive intelligence execs at pharma and biotech companies with oncology portfolios/pipelines. VC investors. ⭐What is it? A podcast interview with the CEO and CSO of a Boston-based company with two radiopharmaceutical R&D platforms, and BMS as an investor. This interview digs into the company’s science, the use of AI, trends in research including combining radiopharmaceuticals with other anticancer modalities and partnering. ⭐Why is it important? Radiopharmaceuticals is a hot area in pharma, and significant deals are being done in the space (including AstraZeneca’s $2bn purchase of Fusion Pharmaceuticals [free to read, with a chart of recent big deals]). These valuable insights will be of interest to big pharma and investors looking to expand in the space, and rival companies wanting competitive intelligence. Citeline Citeline Commercial

Stories making headlines today in the biopharma industry: Biotech companies, focusing on radiopharmaceuticals, neuroscience, and inflammation therapies, are being acquired for substantial premiums due to their potential to bridge gaps in the pharmaceutical field. For instance, Bristol Myers Squibb purchased radiopharmaceutical company RayzeBio at a 104% premium just three months post-IPO. Raising the bar in the oncology biotech space, Pennsylvania-based ArriVent BioPharma prepares for a $175 million IPO on Nasdaq with its furmonertinib, an EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, being its lead asset. Venture capital player Innovation Endeavors, co-founded by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, has launched a new $630 million fund. A significant portion of this fund will invest in life sciences and healthcare, indicating the firm's increasing focus on biotech. Merck's cancer prevention drug, Keytruda, demonstrates a 31% reduction in the risk of bladder cancer recurrence or death post-surgery. Despite not achieving its expected survival endpoint, the interim analysis data shows promise. In other news, Deerfield exits a 2017 deal with Windtree Therapeutics, while Travere Therapeutics finalizes a new $120 million deal with Renalys Pharma. Additionally, Celularity raised $21 million, and Sagimet Biosciences plans for a $112.5 million public offering. Moving towards pipeline development, Strand Therapeutics scales back its workforce by 18%. However, stay optimistic as CEO Jacob Becraft assures the firm’s robust financial runway. Navigating through challenges in 2023, Lonza remains hopeful about revenue growth this year along with plans to shutter its second biologics site soon. Personal updates reveal Bayer's radiology head planning retirement and ex-Sanofi chief Olivier Brandicourt joining BeiGene’s board. After facing a dip in VC and financing in 2023, the UK's life sciences sector now seems primed for an upward trajectory. #pharma #biotech #topstories #biodatastudio

💲Notable RNA deals in March and April 💲 These deals underscore the significance of RNA therapeutics and the delivery systems that ensure their precise targeting and efficacy. Headlined by the acquisition of Cardior Pharmaceuticals by Novo Nordisk for $1.1b USD. Cardior Pharmaceutical technology specializes in targeting abnormal levels of microRNA. Capstan Therapeutics raised an impressive $175m in their oversubscribed Series B. Capstan Therapeutics is looking to advance their CAR-T cell candidate and their targeted LNP pipelines. Regulus Therapeutics recently announced an oversubscribed $100m private placement of equity. They are focused on their pipeline candidates which target microRNAs. Orgenesis Inc. secured a $2.3m private investment and is expected to secure further payments. Orgenesis is a biotech focused on cell and gene therapies, aiming to provide affordable healthcare to patients. ----- Century Therapeutics, Inc raised $60m in private investments and used these funds to acquire Clade Therapeutics. With this move, Century adds to their allogeneic cell therapies. TuHURA Biosciences, Inc. received $31m subscribed financing and have entered into a definitive merger agreement with Kintara Therapeutics, Inc. NASDAQ: KTRA. GenEditBio Limited recently announced their $10m USD Pre-A+ funding round, their third funding round since 2021. The additional funds will be used to further their genome-editing technology platforms, e.g. LNPs and ePDVs. ARCA biopharma and Oruka Therapeutics announced their merger agreement earlier this month. They will look to advance Oruka's pipeline of potentially best-in-class biologics for the treatment of chronic skin diseases. ----- Deals pulled from Beacon Intelligence database. 🌟 Enjoying my content? Repost and follow Michael Hai Luu Nguyen, Ph.D. & Helix Biotech, Inc. for more! 🌟 #RNA #mRNA #RNAtherapeutics #LNPs #LNP #Helixbiotech #investors #deals #funding #biotech #pharma

Biopharma Funding Activity May 20th-24th ‘24 2 newly launched companies and more funding events… Get these weekly → https://lnkd.in/gDdkUYb3 – 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 – AltruBio Inc. 💸  Received an oversubscribed Series B financing of up to $225M led by BVF Partners LP, and other investors to support ongoing and planned Phase 2a and 2b clinical trials of immune checkpoint enhancer, ALTB-268, in ulcerative colitis. Pheon Therapeutics 💸  Completed a $120m Series B financing led by TCGX, with participation from BVF Partners and other investors. The funding will be used to further advance Pheon's differentiated ADC pipeline through clinical proof of concept for its first three assets in a wide range of solid tumors. SixPeaks Bio 💸  Launched with $110M funding: $30M in Series A led by Versant Ventures and $80M  non-dilutive financing from AstraZeneca. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 💸  Launched with $65M Series A financing led by Forbion to advance its multiple sclerosis program. Aktis Oncology 💸  Received $60M upfront cash payment for the collaboration in addition to an equity investment in Aktis by Lilly to generate novel tumor-targeting radiopharmaceuticals. – 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐈𝐏𝐎/𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 – Bicycle Therapeutics 🏦  Announced $555M private investment in public equity. Cytokinetics 🏦  Announced pricing of $500M stock offering. Dyne Therapeutics 🏦  Announced pricing of $325.5M public offering. Erasca, Inc.  🏦  Announced closing of $184M offering. Foghorn Therapeutics Inc. 🏦  Announced pricing of $110M direct offering and pre-funded warrants. --- 👋 I'm Dominic Vacchiano, Co-founder of BiopharmIQ by Amp. We provide biopharma data to help with your sales/BD activities. 📰 Each week we share clinical/regulatory/funding news in an easy-to-digest format. #biotech #biopharma