Pharma League’s Post

Bolt Biotherapeutics is halting its lead cancer drug BDC-1001, laying off 50% of staff, and shifting focus to early-stage candidates BDC-3042 (Phase 1) and BDC-4182 (preclinical). Key Insights - ▪️ New Direction: Prioritizing innovative ISAC technology for anti-tumor responses. ▪️ Partnerships: Continued ISAC research supported by Genmab and Toray. ▪️ Leadership Change: Willie Quinn steps in as CEO. ▪️ Impact: Changes aim to extend cash runway into 2026; stock dropped 34%. Questions - ▪️ How will this strategic shift impact Bolt’s future? ▪️ Can ISAC technology succeed despite high risks? ▪️ What does this mean for cancer drug innovation? #Biotech #CancerResearch #ISAC #BoltBiotherapeutics

LucidQuest Strategic Insights (lqventures.com) >>> Gene&Cell Therapy >> ArriVent prices $175M IPO in back-to-back oncology biotech listings: ArriVent BioPharma will join the Nasdaq on Friday morning in a strong start to biotech’s first batch of initial public offerings this year. The Pennsylvania drugmaker said Thursday night it would sell 9.72 million shares $AVBP at $18 apiece, the midpoint of the range it proposed earlier this week. The late-stage biotech will raise $175 million in its upsized offering. The listing comes a day after the first biotech IPO of the year, in which Phase III bladder cancer drugmaker CG Oncology drew in $380 million. CG will be a tough act to follow: The California biotech saw its stock price $CGON skyrocket 95% on its first day of trading, rising from $19 to $37 after investor demand caused its stock to start trading hours later than expected. But like CG, ArriVent is also in Phase III testing for its lead asset: furmonertinib. The market has favored late-stage assets in recent quarters as many investors were burned by the wave of preclinical platform biotechs that went public at a record pace during the 2020 and 2021 bull rush. ArriVent’s EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor is already approved in China and marketed by Allist Pharmaceuticals. ArriVent has a licensing deal for the asset and anticipates having pivotal data in 2025. It’s testing furmonertinib as a first-line therapy for patients with EGFRm non-small cell lung cancer involving exon 20 insertion mutations. The company also has an asset in the red-hot field of antibody-drug conjugates and plans to have a clinical candidate by year’s end or early 2025, per its SEC paperwork. A few more private biotechs are expected to price their listings soon, including autoimmune CAR-T maker Kyverna, CNS drugmaker Alto Neuroscience, obesity biotech Fractyl Health and preclinical gene editing company Metagenomi. Industry insiders anticipate more IPO filings to come in before the spring, as well. The largest shareholders in ArriVent are Hillhouse Investment Management at 17.6% and OrbiMed at 11.6%. Other backers include LAV Fund VI, Octagon Capital Advisors, Allist, Sofinnova Venture Partners and Sirona Capital Partners. #lucidquest #genetherapy #celltherapy

Iambic Therapeutics has successfully closed a $50 million Series B extension, led by Mubadala Capital and Exor Ventures. This funding will enhance their AI-driven drug discovery efforts. The company is dedicated to transforming patient care through advanced clinical programs and a proprietary rapid design-make-test cycle, enabling swift prototyping and refinement of therapeutic strategies. Notably, they are developing HERO inhibitors, a potential breakthrough in oncology. This investment from Mubadala Capital and Exor Ventures endorses Iambic Therapeutics' direction and aspirations, accelerating their efforts to pioneer sophisticated therapies and fulfill the promise of individualized medicine. #Biotech #Funding #Innovation #AIDrugDiscovery #ClinicalAdvancement #PersonalizedMedicine #HEROinhibitors #CancerTreatment #SeriesBFunding #MubadalaCapital #ExorVentures #PatientCareTransformation #SanDiegoBiotech #TherapeuticBreakthroughs

🔊𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀   We are thrilled to share that one of our portfolio companies, PhoreMost Ltd., has successfully raised $𝟧𝟢𝖬 𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝖲𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝖡 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗇𝖼𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽.   Phoremost, a University of Cambridge spinout, is developing a next-generation phenotypic screening platform called SITESEEKER®, which can identify the best new targets for future therapies and, crucially, how to drug them. This has the potential to significantly increase the diversity of novel therapeutics for cancers and other diseases of unmet need.   The investment will enable them to advance its oncology and inflammation programs towards preclinical development. The funding will also further deploy their platform for molecular glue design and expand pharma collaborations. Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/eTxfpQDP    #o2hVentures #portfolio #eis #seis #news

ICG Life Sciences led Grey Wolf Therapeutics’s oversubscribed $50 million Series B financing expansion, with further investments from existing investors, Pfizer Ventures, Andera Partners, Canaan, Earlybird Venture Capital, Oxford Science Enterprises and British Patient Capital. Grey Wolf is a clinical-stage biotechnology company harnessing first-of-its-kind antigen modulation therapies to target the source of immune dysfunction in oncology and autoimmunity and our Life Sciences team are proud to be supporting the company through its next phase of growth, bringing these potentially transformational therapies closer to patients. 📰 Read the press release: https://lnkd.in/ezJRw7k8 👩🔬Explore ICG Life Sciences: https://lnkd.in/eGpcKCPd At ICG we: 💡 Provide flexible, sustainable solutions 🎯 Drive performance 💫 Operate with purpose #LifeSciences #Healthcare #PrivateCapital #PrivateMarkets #Alternatives Capital at risk. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

#InTheNews: “The new financing, announced Wednesday, adds momentum for CEO John Hood, Ph.D., and the team, who are working to advance a two-asset pipeline that centers on a midstage idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) drug.” - excerpt from Fierce Biotech article by Max Bayer that details our $132.5 million oversubscribed Series C financing announcement and what’s next for our team. We look forward to continuing to advance our pipeline of investigational therapies that have the potential to change treatment expectations.  Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/49QOwG2 #biotechnews #biotech #fundraising #seriesc #venturecapital #oncology #lungdiseases

📢 Intracellular cancer target screening specialist, Curve Therapeutics, has raised £40.5m in Series A financing. The funding round was led by Pfizer Ventures and included new investors Columbus Venture Partners and British Patient Capital. Curve Therapeutics will use the funds to advance its preclinical pipeline of small cyclic peptides and expand its discovery platform. The company's proprietary Microcycle platform enables the direct discovery of biologically active molecules against challenging intracellular protein targets. #BioprocessUpdates #CurveTherapeutics #SeriesAfinancing #PfizerVentures #ColumbusVenturePartners #BritishPatientCapital #smallcyclicpeptides #preclinicalpipeline #discoveryplatform #Microcycleplatform #biologicallyactivemolecules #intracellularproteintargets #cancerresearch #investment #funding #biotech ▷ Read the full article here: 📎 https://lnkd.in/dH3yru_W

Radiant Therapeutics is thrilled to announce the closing of its $35 million Series A financing. This is an important step forward for Radiant. We’ll be adding key members to our team, and accelerating the advance of our lead clinical candidate, 4-1BB, towards clinical trials. I want to personally thank our supportive investors at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Amplitude Ventures, who are co-leads of the round. Also the investors at BDC Capital, abrdn., who are new to Radiant; and existing investors at FACIT, Alexandria Venture Investments and TIAP - Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners.   All of our investors see the potential of the Multabody™ platform, which creates a new class of biologics with an unprecedented combination of multivalency, which results in greater avidity or powerful grip on targets and multi-specificity. Multabodies do things that other existing and developmental antibody treatments can’t do, and that’s why we’re so excited about bringing this powerful new tool to the fight against difficult, heterogeneous diseases.   Finally, the Radiant team has brought extraordinary determination and passion to our mission. This is a day to celebrate before we dig in to the hard work ahead of us as we further develop the Multabody platform. Please read our full press release here: www.radiantbio.com. #Radiant #Multabody #Antibodies #Bio #Biotherapeutics #LifeSciences #Cancer #DrugDiscovery #SeriesA #Financing

Immunology has eclipsed oncology in biotech mergers and acquisitions this year, highlighted by a notable increase in major transactions. Among notable buyouts are Merck's $10.8 billion acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences and Roche's $7.1 billion purchase of Telavant. The trend has also prompted startups like Acelyrin and Kyverna Therapeutics to make significant entries into the IPO market. Amid this shift, AltruBio stands out due to a substantial $300 million funding boost after rebranding and reconstructing its executive team. Now led by industry veterans including Judy Choud, previously with Pfizer and Bayer, and supported by Jesse Hall and Jeroen Grasman, AltruBio is advancing its groundbreaking immunotherapy, ALTB-268, targeting autoimmune diseases such as ulcerative colitis. This therapy aims to balance the immune system while preserving the body's defenses. The company eagerly anticipates the results of the Phase 2a study of ALTB-268 next year and is planning for Phase 2b in 2026. #Immunology #HealthcareInnovation #BiotechTrends

Gene&Cell Therapy >> ArriVent prices $175M IPO in back-to-back oncology biotech listings: ArriVent BioPharma will join the Nasdaq on Friday morning in a strong start to biotech’s first batch of initial public offerings this year. The Pennsylvania drugmaker said Thursday night it would sell 9.72 million shares $AVBP at $18 apiece, the midpoint of the range it proposed earlier this week. The late-stage biotech will raise $175 million in its upsized offering. The listing comes a day after the first biotech IPO of the year, in which Phase III bladder cancer drugmaker CG Oncology drew in $380 million. CG will be a tough act to follow: The California biotech saw its stock price $CGON skyrocket 95% on its first day of trading, rising from $19 to $37 after investor demand caused its stock to start trading hours later than expected. But like CG, ArriVent is also in Phase III testing for its lead asset: furmonertinib. The market has favored late-stage assets in recent quarters as many investors were burned by the wave of preclinical platform biotechs that went public at a record pace during the 2020 and 2021 bull rush. ArriVent’s EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor is already approved in China and marketed by Allist Pharmaceuticals. ArriVent has a licensing deal for the asset and anticipates having pivotal data in 2025. It’s testing furmonertinib as a first-line therapy for patients with EGFRm non-small cell lung cancer involving exon 20 insertion mutations. The company also has an asset in the red-hot field of antibody-drug conjugates and plans to have a clinical candidate by year’s end or early 2025, per its SEC paperwork. A few more private biotechs are expected to price their listings soon, including autoimmune CAR-T maker Kyverna, CNS drugmaker Alto Neuroscience, obesity biotech Fractyl Health and preclinical gene editing company Metagenomi. Industry insiders anticipate more IPO filings to come in before the spring, as well. The largest shareholders in ArriVent are Hillhouse Investment Management at 17.6% and OrbiMed at 11.6%. Other backers include LAV Fund VI, Octagon Capital Advisors, Allist, Sofinnova Venture Partners and Sirona Capital Partners. #lucidquest #genetherapy #celltherapy