A quick read of whose wallets got thicker in the biopharma industry,from largest to smallest.
D3 Bio
Industry-veteran George Chen left a seven-year career at AstraZeneca to launch his ownShanghai-based biotech, D3 Bio, with the support ofbig-nameinvestorslikeBoyu Capital, Matrix Partners China,SequoiaCapital China, Temasek and Wuxi AppTecs Corporate Venture Fund. At this point D3 is keeping its pipeline close to the chest.But Chensays its the approach thatsunique. The company will startwith insights from clinical development and a market assessment of unmet needs and use that to guide the clinical development path. D3 will use this$200 million Series Ato build out an R&D team focused on precision medicine in the realms of immunology and oncology.
Metagenomi
Unlocking the power of microbial evolution,Metagenomimines the worlds natural microbial environment to rapidly develop effective cures to treat incurable genetic diseases. A recent$65 million Series Awill help accelerate the expansion of its gene editing systems for therapies in oncology and genetic-related diseases.This means developing a vast database of gene editing capabilities to enable unprecedented therapeutic approaches. Working with visionary investors, such as Leaps by Bayer and Humboldt Fund, will allow us to deliver on our promise to partners and fuel the development of our own pipeline of innovative curative medicines, Thomas said in a statement.
AliveCor
AI companydisguisedas a medical device companyAliveCorpicked up$65 millionto ramp up speed on their remote cardiology platform. Amidst a pandemic, telehealth appointments have been increasingly necessary.AliveCorsECG will be strengthened withcardiologicaltelehealthservices as well as with detection and condition management services. To date, its products have served more than one million customers globally, recording over 85 million ECGs.AliveCorsKardiaMobiledevice is FDA-cleared and the most clinically validated personal ECG solution in the world.
Nereid Therapeutics
Birthed fromthe work of Clifford P.Brangwynne, Ph.D., Nereid hopes to translate the therapeutic promise of biomolecular condensates from physics to physicians.The biotech will take the$50 million Series Afunding andBrangwynnesproprietary technology enabling precise measurement, interrogationand control of phase separation in cells to develop their drug discovery platform. The platform holds potential to enable completely new approaches to discovering and developing therapeutics across a wide variety of diseases, focusing first on cancers and neurodegenerative disordersaffected by phase transitions.
KiraPharmaceuticals
Backed by$46 million in financingfrom biotech entrepreneur Peter Wirth and others,Kira launchedwith a mission of pioneering a new generation of complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases. With the financing in hand, Kira is aiming to have three assets in the clinic within the next 18 months. The companys most advanced program, P014, is a first-in-class biologic drug with a unique mechanism of action designed to inhibit both upstream and downstream complement targets.Former Sienna Biopharmaceuticals CEO Frederick Beddingfield will be at the helm.
Adagio Medical
Adagio is singing joyfully to the tune of a $42.5 million Series Eto supportthe commercialization of itsiCLASsystem.iCLASis Adagios intelligent Continuous Lesion Ablation Systempursuing both an Investigational Device Exemption trial and a European VT CE-Mark trial.Cardiac ablation is a large and growing market that faces significant challenges including disappointing clinical outcomes, long procedure times and unsatisfactory profitability for providers, saidTuan Huynh, ofArrowMark, one of the Series E investors joining Adagios board of directors. We believe Adagio represents a unique opportunity to transform ablation therapy and look forward to partnering with Adagios management team to support the companys growth and commitment to addressing challenges faced by physicians and their patients.
IniPharm
Founded in 2018 with a focus on liver disease,IniPharmbrought in$35 million with a Series Afinancing roundto take its lead program through to IND filing and into clinical trials.Theprogram targets the HSD17B13 gene, which according to CEO Brian Farmer, confers pretty amazing protection against liver disease.It doesnt appear to actually prevent the diseases causation, but slows progression to more serious illness by preventing inflammation, fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver, which are the dangerous effects of liver disease.The potential for therapies that effectively target HSD17B13 activity is significant because it is linked to a broad spectrum of liver and related diseases, said Farmer.
InterVennBiosciences
InterVennlooks to ramp up their ability to discover biomarkersand design clinical trials with the help of a little AI. Funds from a$34 million Series Bwill expand its precision medicine platformfor cancer detection.InterVennstech platform targets carbohydrates known as glycans, looking for aberrant glycosylation of certain proteins, which are implicated in a variety of disease states, including inflammation.The companysVOCALprojectis evaluating a blood test to determine ifan ovarian tumor is benign or malignant.It is also conducting research into colorectal cancer and kidney cancer, hunting for clinically actionable biomarkers that can be used for diagnosis, prognosis, and detection of cancer recurrence, as well as predictive tests to help choose appropriate drugs.
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Biopharma Money on the Move PharmaLive - PharmaLive
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