Novartis has teamed up with a UK fund manager and the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute in Glasgow to develop RAS inhibitors for difficult-to-treat cancers. RAS is a family of genes that make proteins involved in cell signalling pathways that control cell growth and death. It is estimated that more than 30% of all human cancers, including 95% of pancreatic cancers and 45% of colorectal cancers are driven by mutations of the RAS gene family.
Vivoryon Therapeutics AG has raised €43 million from a rights offering and private placement to finance an upcoming Phase 2b study of its lead product for Alzheimer’s disease, PQ912. The product is a small molecule drug that targets an enzyme, glutaminyl cyclase, thought to be responsible for the formation of toxic oligomers in Alzheimer’s disease. The drug has shown promising efficacy signals in an earlier Phase 2a trial – signals that the company hopes to confirm in a larger patient population.
Bavarian Nordic A/S has significantly expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of vaccines for rabies and tick-borne encephalitis from GlaxoSmithKline Plc giving it two licensed products that can be marketed alongside its recently approved vaccine for smallpox and monkeypox infection, Jynneos. The €796 million deal includes an upfront fee of €301 million, plus performance-based milestone payments.
Paris-based Sofinnova Partners has announced the close of an oversubscribed €333 million life science fund that will invest in early-stage healthcare companies – predominantly in Europe. This is the latest addition to the Sofinnova business which also includes funds for industrial biotech and seed investments in gene and cell therapy companies.
The limited partners of the new fund include endowment funds, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign funds, corporations and family officers, Sofinnova announced on 17 October.
GammaDelta Therapeutics Ltd, a UK biotech exploring the potential of gamma delta T cells as a basis for cell therapies, has created a new company that will investigate potential antibody therapeutics for cancer using the same technology.
Adverse market conditions were the reason cited by ADC Therapeutics SA in cancelling its proposed US initial public offering on 2 October. The IPO was intended to raise up to $200 million through the issue of 8.2 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
But the offering was cancelled a little more than a week after the launch.
“In light of adverse market conditions, we have determined it is in the best interests of our shareholders to withdraw the registration statement,” Chris Martin, the company’s chief executive, said in a press release.
Mogrify Ltd has raised $16 million in an initial Series A round to support development of its direct cellular conversion technology. This represents a new approach to drug discovery by potentially enabling researchers to transform any mature human cell type into any other without going through a pluripotent stem cell state. Leading the round was Ahren Innovation Capital, an existing investor, with participation from Parkwalk, 24Haymarket and the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund III.
bluebird bio Inc and Novo Nordisk A/S have entered into a research collaboration to jointly develop in vivo genome editing treatments for genetic diseases, including haemophilia. During a three year research collaboration, the two companies will focus on identifying a gene therapy candidate for haemophilia A.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has entered a five-year collaboration with Lyell Immunopharma, a San Francisco biotechnology company, to develop new technologies to improve cell therapies for cancer patients. To date, two cell therapies have been approved for blood-borne cancers, but engineered T cells have not yet delivered strong clinical activity in solid tumours. Improving the fitness of T cells and delaying the onset of T cell exhaustion could help engineered T cell therapies become more effective, GSK said.
MiroBio Ltd, a spin-out from the University of Oxford, has raised £27 million in Series A funding from a syndicate of international specialist life science investors to develop antibody modulators of immune cell receptors for auto-immune disease. It is one of the largest A rounds for a European company this year.