December is bringing frost in the North and plenty of cold, hard cash for these life sciences companies.
December is bringing frost in the North and plenty of cold hard cash for these life sciences companies.
Forbion
European venture capital firm Forbion rounded up $545 million for its fifth life sciences fund. Investments will be made in about 15 therapeutics companies, with a third created by Forbion through its “Build” opportunities. The rest will be invested in “highly impactful existing companies.” With offices in the Netherlands, Germany and Singapore, the plan is to invest about 80% into European companies and the rest in North American startups.
Since partnering with Eli Lilly to produce the first monoclonal antibody therapy approved for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients, antibody discovery company AbCellera is going big on the Nasdaq. Offering 23 million shares between $14-$17 apiece for a hopeful total of $391 million, the company is lining up the biggest debut on record for a Canadian biotech. AbCellera’s AI-powered antibody discovery platform speeds the otherwise lengthy and grueling process by analyzing the database of natural immune systems to find antibodies that can be developed into drugs. The promise to partners is to “move quickly. Reduce cost. Tackle the toughest problems in drug development.” Investors include big names like Peter Thiel, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and more.
Silverback goes for gold, upping its IPO for a 4th time since the initial announcement. Originally slated for $125 million, the biotech is now shooting for a $241 million raise by offering 11.5 million shares at $21 each. Some of the funds will be used for the development of therapeutics for oncology and other serious diseases through its proprietary ImmunoTAC technology platform. The ImmunoTAC platform pairs proprietary payloads that modulate key disease modifying pathways with monoclonal antibodies directed at specific disease sites. Silverback’s lead candidate is currently in a Phase I trial in adults with HER2-expressing solid tumors.
Nuance Pharma
There’s nothing subtle about Nuance’s $181 million Series D financing round. The fully integrated pharmaceutical company creates value through China’s specialty pharmaceutical markets with focus on iron deficiency, pain management and respiratory. Now poised to advance a robust therapeutics pipeline to clinical development, Nuance will use the funds for ongoing R&D of existing products and business development of potential new assets.
Sigilon Therapeutics
Now live on the ticker, Sigilon hopes to sell 7 million shares for a $126 million raise. Through its Shielded Living Therapeutics platform, the company is developing functional cures for chronic diseases. The company’s product candidates consist of novel human cells engineered to produce the crucial proteins, enzymes or factors needed by patients living with chronic diseases such as hemophilia, diabetes and lysosomal storage disorders. The engineered cells are protected by Sigilon’s Afibromer™ biomaterials matrix, which shields them from immune rejection and fibrosis. In March, the company closed an $80.3 million Series B.
RayzeBio
Launched in October with a $45 million Series A, RayzeBio put a Series B on their Christmas list and Santa came early. With a pipeline of targeted radiopharmaceuticals against validated solid tumors, the biotech looks to utilize the $105 million raise into advancing their programs toward the clinic. The company’s goal is focused on improving outcomes for cancer patients by harnessing the power of targeted radioisotopes. RayzeBio is also funneling cash into expanding its HQ in San Diego with plans to further develop internal R&D.
SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals
Cornering the untapped Chinese CNS market, SciNeuro launched with $100 million in their pocket. Headquartered in Shanghai, the company will also have a hub in Philadelphia. CEO and founder Min Li knows a thing or two from his time running GSK’s neuro R&D group before the company shuttered the program in 2017. Li stated, “One in every six people in China is living with a CNS condition, yet there are relatively few effective treatments available today, underscoring the urgent need to develop and deliver novel, effective therapies. The impact of CNS diseases extends beyond patients—to their families and society as well.” The assumption is SciNeuro will start with Parkinson’s disease and pain in addition to rare genetic diseases, after scaling up staffing.
Looking to extend the human healthspan, BioAge raised $90 million in an oversubscribed Series C. The company is at the forefront of understanding the biological drivers of aging with its unique and cutting-edge systems biology platform. A supporting pipeline has medicines to target these key pathways to reverse or eradicate disease and extend the years of healthy life remaining. BioAge is on the cusp of taking pilot therapies BGE-117 and BGE-175 into clinical trials, targeting the first half of 2021. According to a press release, proceeds from the financing will be used to build and develop a diversified portfolio of therapies that increase healthspan and lifespan, augment BioAge’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approach to map the molecular pathways that impact human longevity, and further expand capabilities to test drug candidates in predictive models of human diseases of aging.
Remix Therapeutics
Laying down a new track for RNA processing, Remix launched with $81 million in financing. Funds will be used to support development of the REMaster technology platform and advance the company’s pipeline of RNA processing targeted therapeutics as well. “As we reach the limits of what is easily druggable with protein targeting therapies, reprogramming RNA processing represents an exciting new therapeutic opportunity. We believe we can precisely target the cellular complexes that process RNA to address the underlying drivers of disease, working upstream of protein expression,” said Pete Smith, Ph.D., co-founder, president and CSO of Remix Therapeutics and Atlas Venture Entrepreneur in Residence.
Pear picked a sweet deal this week with an $80 million series D backed by Temasek, 5am Ventures, Novartis and quite a few more. Combining biology and technology, the company specializes in Prescription Digital Therapeutics (PDTs), a new therapeutic class that treats serious disease alone or with drugs using software. Pear’s reSET, reSET-O and Somryst are the first PDTs to receive FDA approval for treating disease. The products are used to treat substance use disorder, opioid use disorders and chronic insomnia, respectively. Series D funds will be used to accelerate reimbursement coverage for its three commercial products.
Noema Pharma
Co-founded by the former VP of neuroscience for Roche, Noema Pharma raised $59 million in a Series A round. With an intent to develop treatment for rare neurological disease where existing therapies have not shown much success, the company has licensed four clinical stage assets from Roche. The Roche-assets are aimed at seizures in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), trigeminal neuralgia, Tourette syndrome and other rare neurological disorders. Already having been in clinical studies at Roche, all four candidates have strong clinical and preclinical safety packages. This should allow Noema to quickly pursue a series of clinical programs in orphan central nervous system (CNS) indications.
