Finance, Grants, Deals

Innate Pharma SA made further progress in 2014 in developing antibodies that enable the innate immune system to kill cancer but the cost of clinical development pushed its losses sharply higher.

UK-based Heptares Therapeutics Ltd, which has drug discovery technology targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), has agreed to be taken over by Sosei Group Corporation of Japan enabling it to develop and commercialise its pipeline within a larger, global group.

Denmark-based Genmab A/S and BioNovion BV of the Netherlands have upgraded a research agreement in oncology to a full co-development and commercialisation deal in order to progress work on candidate bispecific antibody products that inhibit immune checkpoints.

Lead Pharma Holding BV, a Dutch company with a novel approach to drug discovery, has entered into a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Sanofi SA to identify small molecule compounds that moderate pro-inflammatory proteins.

Switzerland-based GlycoVaxyn AG, a specialist vaccine developer, has been sold by its venture capital investors to GlaxoSmithKline Plc in a deal that values the company at $212 million. The company’s investors include Sofinnova Partners, Index Ventures and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.

 Novo Nordisk A/S , the largest manufacturer of diabetes products, encountered a smaller rise in revenue in 2014 for the second consecutive year as the impact of Obamacare continued to put pressure on price increase in the company’s largest market.

 Ascendis Pharma A/S of Denmark has issued 6.9 million shares in the United States at $18 per share, generating net proceeds of $111.5 million. In early trading on 3 February 2015 the shares traded at $19.08 on the Nasdaq, representing a 6.0% premium.

Canada-based EnGene Inc, which has developed a gene-based technology to treat autoimmune diseases, has raised $11.5 million in a Series B investment round. The funds will be used to advance the lead product which is intended to treat ulcerative colitis.

NightstaRx Ltd, a one-year old gene therapy company, has received £5 million in new venture finance to expedite the development of a treatment for choroideremia, an inherited cause of progressive blindness. This brings total funding for the company to £17 million.

Autolus Ltd, an oncology spin-out from University College (UCL) London, has raised £30 million in a Series A financing from Syncona LLP in order to develop a new generation of engineered T cell therapies. The funding, which is significant for a start-up, reflects the expectations of the founders that the new T cell technology will revolutionise the treatment of cancer. Besides Syncona, the other founder is UCL Business Plc, the technology transfer arm of UCL.