Following on from the recent success of the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, Nutcracker Therapeutics Inc of the US has raised $167 million in Series C financing to improve its RNA manufacturing platform and help the pharma industry develop new RNA therapeutics. The financing round was led by ARCH Venture Partners, which also has investments in Illumina Inc and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Precirix NV, a Belgian biotech company created in 2014 as a spin-off from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, has raised €80 million in a Series B financing round to advance a pipeline of radiopharmaceuticals for cancer. The technology involves the use of antibody fragments derived from llama to transport radioisotopes to receptors on the surface of cancer cells and kill the cells by irradiation. The antibody fragments are similar to those used by Ablynx, now part of Sanofi SA, to successfully build a portfolio of products for rare diseases.
On the back of a €18.5 million fundraising, Kither Biotech Srl plans to accelerate development of a candidate product for cystic fibrosis. The product, KIT2014, is currently in preclinical studies which are expected to complete in 2022. Soon thereafter, it will move on to a Phase 1/2A trial. KIT2014 is being developed as an add-on to the current standard of care. It is delivered directly to the lungs as an inhaled therapy. It works by modulating cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels inside cells.
Novartis is to explore new ways of delivering gene therapies to the brain under a licence option agreement with Voyager Therapeutics Inc, a US company with adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid technology. Under the agreement, the Swiss multinational may elect to license novel capsids for use in directing therapies against three undisclosed central nervous system (CNS) targets. Further out, it may exercise options for two additional targets. The goal is to develop gene therapies for neurological diseases that manifest in deep regions of the brain.
AbbVie Inc has acquired a Belgian neurology company for up to $1 billion in order to enrich its portfolio with assets designed to treat cognitive impairment. The company, Syndesi Therapeutics SA, was founded in 2017 through a partnership between UCB Pharma and Novo Seeds and supported by a syndicate of Belgian and international investors.
A Dutch biotech company, founded in 2020, has raised €39 million in Series A financing to accelerate development of a preclinical compound that targets blood clots in order to treat acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura (aTTP) and acute ischaemic stroke. TargED Biopharmaceuticals BV is a spin-out of the University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Its top management all have experience in blood disorders.
The financing round was arranged by an international syndicate comprising Andera Partners, Fund+, Hadean Ventures, Inkef Capital and Sunstone Life Science Ventures.
A UK company founded in August 2021 to build a portfolio of new treatments for ocular diseases has raised $65 million in a Series financing round. EyeBiotech Ltd was co-founded by David Guyer and Anthony Adamis, two experienced opthalmologists. The financing was co-led by Jeito Capital, Samsara BioCapital and SV Health Investors, which also provided the new company with seed funding and helped recruit the leadership team.
BioNTech SE has entered a three-year collaboration with Medigene AG to develop immunotherapies against solid tumours using Medigene’s proprietary T cell receptor (TCR) technology. This technology involves engineering a patient’s own T cells in order to display receptors that can recognise specific cancer antigens. Under the agreement, Medigene’s TCR discovery platform will be used in the development of cancer therapies against tumour targets nominated by BioNTech.
UK-based Oxford Biomedica Plc is to establish a gene therapy manufacturing presence in the US under a new agreement with Homology Medicines Inc, a clinical-stage genetics medicines company located near Boston, US. Homology has experience in the development and use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors while Oxford Biomedica has a lentiviral vector delivery platform.
Intellia Therapeutics Inc has taken steps to advance its genome editing technology with the acquisition of Rewrite Therapeutics Inc. Intellia will pay Rewrite shareholders $45 million upfront and an additional $155 million and research and regulatory milestones through a mix of Intellia stock and cash. Further financial details were not disclosed.