This week, financing came in the form of loans, private placements and a Series B, throwing support behind an injectable heart failure drug, oral immunology therapies and an ASD treatment.
This week, financing came in the form of loans, private placements and a Series B, throwing support behind an injectable heart failure drug, oral immunology therapies and cell-based treatments.
Vita Therapeutics Earns $31M in Series B
Cell engineering company Vita Therapeutics closed its Series B financing round Wednesday, counting $31 million in earnings. The Baltimore biotech plans to use these proceeds to advance VTA-100, its lead pre-clinical asset for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.
The money will also help support Vita’s newest program, VTA-120, which is being investigated as a potential treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Series B earnings will also help the company further deepen its discovery pipeline.
The funding round was led by Cambrian BioPharma and a new investor Solve FSHD. During the Series B, Vita found new supporters in Cedars Sinai and Riptide Ventures. The company has raised a total of $66 million since it was established in 2019.
scPharmaceuticals Enters $100M Debt Agreement
On Monday, scPharmaceuticals announced a binding term sheet agreement for $100 million in a secured debt facility, with the financing managed by Oaktree Capital Management. The partners expect to ink the deal in mid-October, subject to each party’s execution of the definitive agreements and customary closing conditions.
The deal will see scPharmaceuticals get $50 million upon signing and remain eligible for two $25 million tranches based on commercial milestones. The Massachusetts pharma will use the proceeds, along with remaining cash on hand, to pay out existing loans and security agreements and support the launch of its chronic heart failure therapy Furoscix (furosemide injection).
Alongside the announcement of its debt financing, scPharmaceuticals also revealed Monday the FDA has also approved Furoscix for the treatment of congestion in adults due to fluid overload. Furoscix contains a proprietary furosemide formulation, self-administered using a delivery device attached to the patient’s abdomen.
Andera Raises $442M for New Fund
Life science venture capital firm Andera Partners announced Monday that it had raised around $442 million for the sixth generation of its BioDiscovery fund. The money will be used to build the venture’s portfolio of biopharma companies working on innovative treatments and medical technologies across all stages of development.
So far, BioDiscovery 6 has already invested in Imcheck, Mineralys, Tubulus, TargED, Amolyt and Evommune.
The BioDiscovery family of funds has raised nearly $1.1 billion since it was established and has helped finance more than 80 companies across North America and Europe. Its portfolio includes over 40 exits with around 20 companies sold, such as Arvelle, Sanifit and ReViral. BioDiscovery has also supported some twenty firms that have had their initial public offerings, including Axonics and LogicBio.
Private Financing Wins Immunic $60M
Immunic, Inc. recently closed its private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing round, expecting around $60 million in gross earnings before offering-related expenses are deducted. The agreement saw the New York biopharma sell a total of 8,696,552 shares of its common stock at a 10% premium, corresponding to a price of $4.35 per share.
The proceeds will help Immunic fund its current clinical development projects, particularly its three lead oral immunology candidates: IMU-838 (vidofludimus calcium) for multiple sclerosis, IMU-935 for psoriasis and castration-resistant prostate cancer and IMU-856 for conditions associated with bowel barrier dysfunction. The PIPE money, together with current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, will see Immunic through the fourth quarter of 2024.
Evgen, STALICLA Ink $160.5M In-Licensing Deal in ASD
Precision neuroscience biotech STALICLA SA announced Monday that it was in-licensing Evgen Pharma’s SFX-01, a candidate for a biologically-characterized subgroup of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The deal will see STALICLA make a $0.5 million upfront payment. Evgen will remain eligible for up to $160.5 million in cumulative milestones in relation to the candidate’s first indication, as well as to low-to-medium double-digit percentage royalties on SFX-01 sales.
STALICLA is adding SFX-01 to its pipeline of precision medicine treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders. Monday’s in-licensing deals follows the successful completion of a Phase 1b trial for STP1 early this year. STP1 is its lead candidate and is being investigated in a different biological subtype of ASD.
