As the global life sciences industry slows down, companies are gathering money through means other than VC funding. BioSpace shines a light on some of these recent transactions.
As investment across the global life sciences industry slows down, companies are gathering money through means other than VC funding -they’re getting cash from selling subsidiaries, private placements and closing public offerings. BioSpace shines a light on some of these recent transactions.
Precigen Selling Trans Ova Genetics with a $170M Price Tag
Maryland-based Precigen is selling its wholly-owned subsidiary Trans Ova Genetics, an animal reproductive technologies company, to URUS, a holding company. The price tag is $170 million in upfront payments to Precigen. After the deal closes, which is expected to happen in Q3, there’s another $10 million on the table depending on Trans Ova’s milestones.
The move could be a stopgap for Precigen’s finances. In its first-quarter report, the company stated a loss from continuing operations of $19.3 million, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $21.8 million in 2021.
The company also needs a fast cash runway for some of its leading drug candidates. That includes PRGN-3006, a multigenic autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) AML, which is currently being assessed in Phase I trials for patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) AML and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The drug received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April.
“I am proud of Precigen management and the Trans Ova team for successfully leading the financial turnaround of Trans Ova operations….We expect to have the capacity to pay the convertible notes upon maturity and to focus on fast regulatory paths for our healthcare portfolio,” Helen Sabzevari, Ph.D., president and CEO of Precigen said.
Syros Gets $190M Boost with Merger and Private Placement
Syros Pharmaceuticals had a busy Tuesday. In the biggest announcement, Syros is merging with biotech company TYME Technologies. As part of the deal, Syros will acquire TYME and its pipeline assets in a deal valued at an estimated $60 million.
At the same time, Syros announced an oversubscribed $130 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing, led by Flagship Pioneering, Avidity Partners, Deep Track Capital, Bain Capital Life Sciences and others.
When combined with TYME’s assets, the private investment boosts Syros’ worth to roughly $240 million. That’s enough of a cash runway to pay for all planned operating expenses into 2025, including a Phase III clinical trial of SY-2101, an experimental treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia, that is planned for 2023.
Zhiyi Biotech Touts $45M Series B to Accelerate Live Biotherapeutic Products
Zhiyi Biotech, a clinical-stage company based in Guangzhou, China, just closed another round of funding. Led by investors Qingkong SinoKing Capital, SDIC Venture Capital, KIP and others, the B, B+ and B++ rounds of funding totaled $45 million.
The fund will support the company’s pipeline of live biotherapeutic products. Zhiyi expects to submit several products for Investigational New Drug approval to the FDA and China’s National Medical Products Administration respectively and plans to push several more products to clinical stages in the upcoming year. The money will also help Zhiyi finish a Phase II clinical trial of SK08, a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.
Agile Therapeutics Closes Upsized $24M Public Offering
On July 1, Agile Therapeutics announced the pricing of its upsized public offering of an aggregate of 26,666,666 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $0.90 per share. The company has now closed the deal with proceeds of about $24 million.
Agile’s press release was vague as to the purposes of the funding, saying it was for business development and general administrative purposes. However, some clues may be found in the company’s first-quarter financial update. Agile is actively paying off debt to Perceptive Advisors, which as of January, was at $15 million, with a $5 million payment planned for Q2. Part of the company’s financing plan was to raise capital and “explore all strategic options to grow or transform its business.”
