The European Innovation Council is to allocate up to €17.5 million in grant and equity finance to Osivax SAS of France to support the development of a candidate universal influenza vaccine that may also have application against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Osivax was spun out of the vaccine and genomics company Imaxio in 2017 with technology for reengineering antigens in order to induce strong immune responses.
Sweden-based Gesynta Pharma AB has raised SEK 190 million (€18.22 million) from a private share placement led by the European life science fund manager Hadean Ventures to advance a small molecule drug for patients with systemic sclerosis which is in the clinic.
UK-based Mission Therapeutics Ltd has raised $15 million from a group of institutions led by Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc. The capital will enable to company to advance its portfolio of preclinical small molecule drugs that inhibit deubiquitylating enzymes (DUB) which are involved in DNA damage response. The company’s therapeutic focus is neurodegenerative disorders, mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis.
The gene therapy developer Freeline Therapeutics Ltd has closed a $120 million extended Series C financing round in order to bring its lead programme for haemophilia B into a pivotal trial. Simultaneously on 30 June, it announced a possible initial public offering (IPO) of its shares in the US. The timing and the terms of such an offer have not been decided. Freeline’s majority shareholder is Syncona Ltd, formerly part of the Wellcome Trust.
A new Irish-German medical device company, OneProjects Ltd, has raised €11 million in a Series A financing round to develop imaging technology for cardiac arrythmias, including atrial fibrillation. The financing was led by Netherlands-based Life Sciences Partners BV, investing from its LSP Health Economics Fund 2. It was co-led by the Atlantic Bridge University Fund of Ireland, with participation from Enterprise Ireland.
Germany’s BioNTech SE has reached an agreement to place shares with the Singaporean investment group Temasek Holdings Private Ltd and other investors to raise $250 million for the ongoing development of its messenger RNA (mRNA) portfolio which includes an experimental vaccine programme for COVID-19. The transaction is expected to close in early to mid-August. It consists of an investment of $139 million in BioNTech shares and $112 million in four-year mandatory convertible notes.
The German biotech company Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH has become the latest European enterprise to list its shares on the US Nasdaq market in order to finance the development of immunotherapies for cancer. However Immatics chose an uncommon strategy for gaining market entry: it executed a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison China MediTech Ltd (Chi-Med) has raised $100 million from a share placement with a global equity firm to support the development of its oncology business. The placement was with General Atlantic which has offices on four continents and a significant life science portfolio.
Netherlands-based BioGeneration Ventures has closed its fourth fund BGV IV at €105 million to continue its work building new companies in Europe around single assets or technology platforms. New investors included Industriens Pension of Denmark and KfW Capital of Germany, while Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, an investor in BioGeneration’s third fund, also participated in the new vehicle.
The France-based microbiome company Enterome SA has closed a €46.3 million Series E financing round to advance the development of a microbiome derived product for cancer. The financing was supported by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, which also has a collaboration with the company, and the investors Seventure Partners and Nestlé Health Science.