Finland-based Valo Therapeutics Oy has raised €11 million in an over-subscribed financing round to support a first clinical trial of it lead cancer drug – an antigen-coated oncolytic virus. The financing, announced on 15 November, was led by the corporate advisory firm Ironside Capital. Existing investor Freeman Road Pty Ltd participated in the round as did new investor MMJ Group Holdings of Australia. The round is being described as a prelude to an initial public share offering.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc has negotiated rights to a candidate treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which uses RNA interference (RNAi) technology to reduce levels of the liver enzyme ALT and address the disorder. The candidate therapy, ARO-HSD, targets the protein-coding gene HSD17B13 which is involved in the metabolism of hormones, fatty acids and bile acids. NASH is a disorder in which excessive fat builds up in the liver, causing inflammatory damage and fibrosis.