Finance, Grants, Deals

Switzerland-based Roche has entered into a partnership with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc to co-develop and commercialise an experimental RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic that has shown promise as a treatment for hypertension in patients at a high risk of cardiovascular disease. Announced on 24 July, the deal involves zilebesiran, a drug currently in Phase 2 which targets angiotensinogen, a protein implicated in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system which causes high blood pressure.

A new special purpose biotech company, Mage Biologics Inc, has been launched in the US to advance development of a monoclonal antibody treatment for ulcerative colitis, a chronic, inflammatory bowel disease. The candidate product is being designed for oral administration, using sustained release technology designed by one of its founders.

argenx SE of the Netherlands has raised $1.27 billion from a global share offering after the exercise by underwriters of their options to buy more shares. This is an increase from the initial gross proceeds of $1.1 billion and will support development of the company’s pipeline of therapies for severe autoimmune diseases.

Eli Lilly and Co is to acquire Versanis Bio Inc of the US in a transaction valued at up to $1.93 billion in order to expand its presence in cardiometabolic medicine development. The acquisition, in cash, will be the company’s third in less than a month, giving it a candidate product for obesity that is in a Phase 2b study. The acquisition was announced on 14 July. Lilly’s earlier announced deals included the takeover of DICE Therapeutics Inc, with a project in psoriasis, and Sigilon Therapeutics Inc, with a project for type 1 diabetes.

BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) of the Netherlands has raised €150 million for a fifth venture fund which will enable it continue creating new biotech companies and provide financial support to those already building portfolios. BGV Fund V was oversubscribed, generating funds from existing and new investors, of which 78% were of US origin. Existing investors also contributed, including Eli Lilly and Co, Novo Holdings, and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. The fund’s close was announced on 13 July.

Twenty years after its launch as a nanomedicines company, Nanobiotix SA of France has secured a major licensing deal enabling it to complete development and commercialise a radioenhancer for use with radiotherapy to treat patients with multiple, difficult cancers. The agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, part of Johnson & Johnson Inc, was announced on 10 July. It carries potential payments of up to $1.8 billion in development, regulatory and sales milestones as well as royalties on net sales of the product NBTXR3.

Eli Lilly and Co is to expand its pharmaceutical pipeline with the acquisition of Sigilon Therapeutics Inc of Cambridge, US, which has a pre-clinical asset for type 1 diabetes. The two companies have been developing the asset, an encapsulated cell therapy called SIG-002, since 2018. The product is in lead optimisation and poised to enter clinical development.

AAVantgarde Bio Srl of Italy has raised €61 million in a Series A financing to develop genetic medicines for inherited retinal diseases. The financing was co-led by Atlas Venture of the US and Netherlands-based Forbion.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics AG of Switzerland has completed an upsized public share offering which is expected to yield an estimated $400 million, before commissions and underwriting discounts. The shares were priced on 27 June ahead of the close of the offering which is expected to be on or about 30 June.

A Netherlands-based company with new technology for antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) announced the completion of a $65 million Series A financing on 22 June. Tagworks Pharmaceuticals BV was founded in 2011 and currently has one preclinical ADC in development and four in discovery. The financing will enable it to advance the lead programme, TGW101, and test a new concept in oncology drug development.