A newly formed German company, Rigontec GmbH, has found backers for a novel cancer treatment that makes a tumour seem like a viral infection, thereby prompting an attack by the immune system. The treatment involves neither live viruses, nor viral genes, nor particles common in oncolytic viruses, and therefore does not raise safety concerns common to the use of viruses, according to the developers.
Nextech Invest Ltd said that it has raised $40 million in the first closing of its fourth oncology fund but that its target for the final closing remains at $100 million.
In a major expansion of an existing gene-therapy deal, Oxford BioMedica Plc has reached an agreement with Novartis to supply it with greater quantities of lentiviral vector that can be used to gene
A new company which is investigating treatments for conditions ranging from cancer to reperfusion injury has been launched in the UK with £15.5 million in seed capital. The company, Magnus Life Science, is a collaboration with University College London (UCL).
A UK start-up which is developing a candidate molecule for multiple myeloma has received £1.85 million in seed funding from Imperial Innovations Group Plc. Kesios Therapeutics Ltd was set up to commercialise the research of Guido Franzoso of Imperial College London.
TVM Capital Life Science has raised $201.6 million at the final closing of its latest venture fund drawing on a diverse group of investors from the Business Development Bank of Canada to Eli Lilly and Company.
Forbion Capital Partners and Life Sciences Partners, both based in the Netherlands, have together raised €172 million from investors in order to support companies active in the life sciences. Both venture capital companies were supported by investors in Europe and the US.
Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc and Italy’s Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA have ended their plans to merge citing a shift in the political environment toward transactions of the kind being proposed. As a result, Salix will make a $25 million termination payment to Cosmo.
Adaptimmune Ltd, which is developing a T cell therapies for cancer and infectious disease, has raised $104 million in a Series A financing round to support its ongoing work in multiple cancer indications. The oversubscribed round was led by New Enterprise Associates of the US.
Probiodrug AG, a German specialist in Alzheimer’s disease, is planning to make an initial public offering of its shares on the Amsterdam Euronext exchange to support development of a drug that targets small amyloid-beta aggregates.