Gossamer Bio sold shares of its common stock to pave its runway through mid-2024 while Teva and AbbVie reach deals in opioid settlements.
This week, two biotherapeutics companies raised money to continue their clinical goals while two others reached financial settlements in opioid claims.
TrueBinding Injects $100M into Mystery Neurodegenerative-Focused Company
California-based biotherapeutics company TrueBinding raised $100 million to develop treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Preferring to maintain an air of mystery. the company didn’t say what round of investment the cash was from nor who their investors were, but an SEC filing did reveal the amount on Tuesday.
TrueBinding might be relatively new - it was only started six years ago - but it already has an Investigational New Drug clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its lead candidate, TB006, which is currently undergoing clinical trials for both Alzheimer’s Disease and acute ischemic stroke. The funding will push both clinical trials to completion as well as help advance the company’s pipeline of three other drugs.
Pfizer Backs Agomab in Series B Extension
Belgium-based Agomab Therapeutics originally closed its Series B round of funding in March 2021 with a solid $74 million. However, it decided to extend the round when Pfizer said it would lead the way with an investment through its Pfizer Breakthrough Growth Initiative. The decision raked in an extra $40.5 million, bringing the Series B total to roughly $114 million.
Pfizer’s leadership of the extension comes with an agreement to support the development of Agomab’s lead candidate, AGMB-129, a gastrointestinal tract restricted ALK-5 inhibitor for the treatment of fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease. The company said the funding will push AGMB-129 through its current clinical trial, as well as provide general support for Agomab’s growth and clinical development.
$120M Infusion Extends Gossamer Bio through Mid-2024
Gossamer Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, arranged a private placement in which the company sold approximately 16.6 million shares of its common stock. The financing, which closes Friday, is expected to be worth about $120 million.
The cash will be enough to extend Gossamer’s runway through mid-2024. One of the main goals of the placement is to support seralutinib, a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The new funds will also go to advance research and development for other products in the pipeline.
Teva and AbbVie Settle Opioid Suit with San Francisco
Teva Pharmaceuticals has reached a deal with the county and city of San Francisco and the state of California over claims that it helped fue an opioid epidemic in the area. As part of the deal, Teva will pay almost $25 million in cash over the next 13 years, as well as supply $20 million worth of Narcan, an overdose reversal drug, over the next ten years. Teva notes that the settlement is “not an admission of any liability or wrongdoing.”
The settlement also includes $13 million from AbbVie‘s Allergan unit. Paul Geller, a lawyer who represented the city of San Francisco, told Reuters the settlement money will go toward education, prevention and treatment efforts.
Theratechnologies snares $100 Million Loan
Montreal-based biopharmaceutical company Theratechnologies Inc. has received a $100 million binding commitment with respect to a non-dilutive term loan with an affiliate of Marathon Asset Management.
The money will be used to grow the company’s FDA-approved drugs, Egrifta SV (tesamorelin), used for the reduction of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy and Trogarz (ibalizumab-uiyk), an antiretroviral medication for adult patients living with HIV. The funs will also go toward advancing Theratechnologies’ clinical oncology pipeline.
