Financial markets remain tough for companies looking to raise capital, but some biotech companies have been able to find investors willing to back their research. Cell therapy research and cancer drugs have featured prominently in financings announced over the past week. Below is a recap of biotech financing activity over the past week.
—Tessa Therapeutics, a cell therapy developer, has launched a $126 million in Series A funding Funding is used to fund continued clinical development of treatments for two different types of cancer. TT11 is the Singaporean company’s autologous cell therapy, made from a patient’s own T cells. The cell therapy candidate targets the cancer protein CD30 and is poised to begin a pivotal Phase 2 test later this year. TT11X is Tessa’s allogeneic cell therapy made from immune cells from healthy donors. The experimental therapy, which also targets CD30, is currently in Phase 1 testing. Polaris Partners leads Tessa’s new funding round.
—Charisma Therapy launched $50 million to support its AI-based approach to drug discovery. The London-based company’s technology, called DragonFold AI, predicts the three-dimensional structure of proteins to gain insights into elusive targets in cancer and other therapeutic areas. Charm calls this approach 3D deep learning. F-Prime Capital and OrbiMed co-led the Series A round with participation from General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Braavos and Axial.
—Code Biotherapeutics is bypassing viral delivery of genetic medicines, it Raised $75 million to advance the development of its method of synthesizing DNA. Hatfield, Pennsylvania-based Code Bio said its approach could overcome some of the limitations of therapies delivered through engineered viruses. The Series A financing, led by Northpond Ventures, will be used for preclinical studies to support investigational new drug applications for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy and Type 1 Diabetes pilot programs.
— Hypertension-focused Mineralys Therapeutics shuts down $118 million in Series B financing Financing led by RA Capital Management and Andera Partners. The Philadelphia-based biotech will use the funding to continue developing MLS-101, a drug designed to block the enzyme aldosterone synthase, reducing levels of the enzyme without affecting other hormones such as cortisol. The company believes this selectivity could make MLS-101 a targeted therapy for the treatment of blood pressure in hypertensive patients with elevated aldosterone, the underlying cause in about 25 percent of hypertensive patients. The molecule is under license from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and is currently in Phase 2 testing, with preliminary data expected later this year.
— Synklino, a biotech company developing treatments for chronic viral infections, 29.8 million euros closed (~$31.9 million) Series A financing. The Copenhagen, Denmark-based company’s lead drug candidate, SYN002, is an experimental treatment for cytomegalovirus that can cause infections and complications in transplant patients. PKA Pension Fund led the Synklino financing; Danish Growth Fund and Eir Ventures also participated.
– Radiopharmaceutical company Ariceum Therapeutics launches Backed by a Series A funding round of €25 million (~$26.3 million). The Berlin-based company will use the funding to advance the development of its lead radiopharmaceutical candidate, satoreotide, to treat neuroendocrine cancer and certain other aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancers. The radiopharmaceutical is designed to block type 2 somatostatin, a receptor overexpressed in many cancers including small cell lung cancer; high-grade neuroendocrine tumors; and neuroblastoma, a rare but Aggressive cancer, mainly in young children. The drug candidate was acquired from Ipsen last year.
— Pinetree Therapeutics, a preclinical biotechnology company developing treatments for cancer and viral diseases, closed $23.5 million in Series A1 funding funds. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s technology, called tumor-associated essential receptor-targeting antibodies, or TAER-TAB, produces antibodies. Pinetree’s lead drug candidate is a bispecific antibody designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer by degrading EGFR, a protein involved in cell signaling that drives cancer growth.
— Degron Therapeutics, which is pursuing “untreatable” disease targets, now has $22 million in funding to support its research. The biotech’s platform technology, GlueXplorer, develops so-called molecular glues that can be used in a type of therapy called targeted protein degradation. The preclinical company aims to develop medicines in therapeutic areas such as cancer, inflammation, metabolic diseases and rare diseases. Three protocols achieved lead optimization; one addressed a target for application in a range of cancer and immune diseases. Med-Fine Capital leads the way Series A financing For Degron, the company operates between San Diego and Shanghai.
—Coya Therapeutics, a cell therapy developer $10.3 million raised Continues to develop several projects, including its most advanced project, a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The project, called COYA 101, is an autologous cell therapy made from a type of immune cell called regulatory T cells (Treg). Houston-based Coya plans to advance the therapeutic candidate into Phase 2b testing. The pipeline includes allogeneic cell therapies for frontotemporal dementia and autoimmune and metabolic diseases, which the company plans to advance into Phase 1 clinical trials.
– AI-based companies Anagex Announces $30 Million Funding Applying its technology to develop novel small molecules capable of hitting so-called non-drugable targets. Biotechnologically state-of-the-art drug candidates in preclinical stages are being developed for cardiovascular disease and cancer. Catalio Capital Management led Anagenex’s Series A round.
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