News

The life science investor Medicxi Ventures (UK) LLP has created a new fund, supported by private equity, to accelerate the development of six biotech companies being held by Index Ventures Life VI, a Jersey-based venture capital fund set up by its former parent company Index Ventures. Medicxi announced the transaction on 22 September, saying it will enable the companies to reach the next stages of value creation. The companies were not identified.

Salvia BioElectronics BV, a three-year old Dutch medical device company, has raised €26 million in Series A financing to advance development of an implant for the treatment of migraine. The product uses mild electrical impulses to influence nerve activity.

An international research team based at the University of Bristol in the UK has identified a fatty acid binding pocket in the structure of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that they believe could be exploited to develop small molecule drugs effective against the virus. According to a report published in Science on 21 September, the pocket binds strongly to linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid.

The Roche group is to acquire Ireland-based Inflazome Ltd and its portfolio of compounds for the treatment of a range of inflammatory diseases. The small molecule drugs inhibit the protein NLRP3 which is expressed in macrophages and is a component of the inflammasome. Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is implicated in many diseases caused by chronic, uncontrolled inflammation.

Verona Pharma Plc, a clinical-stage British company developing treatments for respiratory diseases, has announced plans to delist its shares from the AIM market in London portion of the London Stock Exchange on 30 October because a parallel listing on the US Nasdaq market has accounted for 98% of trading in the past six months.
Shareholders who convert their shares into American Depository Shares (ADSs) prior to the delisting will not be subject to stamp duty or charges by the depository bank, the company said.

Nyxoah SA, a Belgian medical device company, has made an initial public offering of its shares on Euronext Brussels, raising up to €85 million to develop and market its device for obstructive sleep apnoea. The company began trading on 18 September under the ticker symbol NYXH. The offer price was set at €17 per share giving the company an initial market capitalisation of €364 million.

Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, the Italian healthcare group, has enlisted the expertise of US-based Moderna Inc in order to discover and develop new therapeutics for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a progressive disorder characterised by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. The companies will use Moderna’s messenger RNA (mRNA) technology as the basis for their research.

LAVA Therapeutics BV, a four-year old company investigating bispecific antibodies directed against gamma-delta T cells, has raised $83 million to bring its programmes into clinical development for cancer. The oversubscribed Series C financing round was co-led by Novo Ventures, the venture arm of Novo Holdings, and Sanofi Ventures. Nanna Lüneborg, a partner at Novo Ventures, will join the company’s board of directors.

AstraZeneca Plc has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to acquire a preclinical small molecule programme from Dogma Therapeutics Inc for the potential treatment of dyslipidaemia, a disorder characterised by abnormal amounts of lipids in the blood. The small molecule inhibits PCSK9, a protein that regulates levels of low-density lipoproteins. High levels of these lipoproteins can lead to a build-up of cholesterol in the arteries, a risk for cardiovascular disease.

Gilead Sciences Inc is to spend $21 billion to expand its oncology portfolio with the acquisition of Immunomedics Inc of Morris Plains, New Jersey, US. Immunomedics has a marketed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) for triple-negative breast cancer which is said to have potential in other cancer indications both as a monotherapy and in combination with other treatments. The takeover was announced on 13 September after being unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter.