Money on the Move: March 17-23 – BioSpace

Its March Madnessin the life sciences industry, with money pouring in faster than LeBron James on a breakaway. Heres where the big buckswentthis week.

Design Therapeutics

Having just completed a$125 million Series Bfinancing round twomonths prior,Design Therapeutics isnow gunning for a$228 million IPO. The company is developing a platform of gene-targeted chimera small molecules for the treatment of serious degenerative disorders caused by inherited nucleotide repeat expansions.

Planning to sell 12 million shares between $18 and $20 apiece, the funds will be used to develop treatments for nucleotide repeat expansion disorders, including its lead program in Friedreich ataxia, which is expected to enter clinical development in the first half of 2022.

Connect Biopharma

T-Cell driven Connect took in$191.3 million during its IPO,with a potential of swelling to $219.9 million. The San Diego-based company focuses on treating chronic inflammatory diseases.The companys lead asset CBP-201 is an antibody designed to target interleukin-4 receptor alpha (IL-4R),a validated target for the treatment of several inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD) and asthma.

Vaccitech

AstraZenecasCOVID-19 vaccinepartnerVaccitechgained$168 million in a Series Bfinancing round.The company plans to use the funds to support its own lead candidates in oncology and infectious disease.Itsheterologous prime-boost approach has been demonstrated to drive powerful immune responses, including the leading CD8+ T cell stimulation profile in humans, to date.Vaccitech, which is a spinout of Oxford University, has three lead programs that are all in Phase I/II studies. The company is assessing VTP-300 in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The first patient in the trial was dosed in February.

Brii Biosciences

After two antibody programs aimed at COVID-19 wereshut down due to disappointing results,BriiBiosciences is back in the saddle with a$155 million Series Cinfusion of cash.The multi-national companywill use the funds to advance its pipeline of infectious disease candidates, as well asits CNS program.Clinical studies are being conducted in multiple infectious diseases, includingHBV, COVID-19, Gram-negative bacterial infections and HIV.

Finch Therapeutics

Finch sealed the deal with NASDAQ last week, raising$125 million in its IPO. Trading under FNCH, themicrobiome therapeutics company leveraging itsHuman-First Discoveryplatform to develop a novel class of orally administered biological drugs.Lead candidate, CP101, is in late-stage clinical development for the prevention of recurrentC. difficileinfection (CDI).A partnership with Takeda has Finch advancing FIN-524 and FIN-525 for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease.

AbSci

Synthetic biology companyAbSciscored$125 million crossover financingin a round led by existinginvestors and joined by new ones. Proceeds go towards the companys continued growth inR&D, along with integration and training for the deep learning AI platformAbSciacquired in January of this year.

Ikena Oncology

Another company headed to the Nasdaq just a few months after completing aSeries B raise,Ikenaplans to offer 7.8 million shares at $15 to $17 for a raise of$125 million. With five programs in the works,Ikenaannounced its TEAD inhibitor targeting the Hippo signaling pathwayhas entered IND-enabling studies.Ikenaplans to file an IND in the second half of 2021 and to initiate a Phase Iclinical trial evaluating single-agent IK-930 in biomarker-enriched patient populations.

EpimAb

Shanghai-basedEpimAbis refilling its coffers this week with the close of a$120 million Series C.Funds are earmarked to take three programs into the clinic EMB-01, -02, and 06.The lead program, EMB-01, targets EGFR andcMETon tumor cells. Currently the candidate is in Phase I/II clinical studies in both China and the US.EMB-02 hasbeen cleared for the clinic by the FDA to target checkpoint proteins PD-1 and LAG-3.EMB-06 is a T-Cell engaging bispecific targeting CD3 and BCMA with clearance to initiate trials in Australia.

Renovacor

This biotech took whatexpertsconsideran easier road to the NASDAQ by way of SPAC, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company. Merging with publicly tradedChardanHealthcare Acquisition 2 Corp,Renovacorwill join the ticker and reap the benefits of up to$116 millionfor the combined company.According to the release, proceeds will" advance its lead rare disease gene therapy program into Phase I/II clinical development and establish a pipeline of preclinical research programs to be progressed towards IND-enabling studies.

Lava Therapeutics

With hopes to enter the clinic soon, Lava is filing for a$101 million IPO.Developing a proprietary bispecific antibody platform that engages gamma-delta T cells, thecompany'sprograms are aimed at hematological and solid cancers.LAVA-051, is expected to enter a Phase I/IIaclinical study in hematologic malignancies in the first half of 2021.

Recursion Pharmaceuticals

Salt Lake Citys Recursion is ready to see its RXRX symbol up on the ticker, with hopes to raise$100 millionin its IPO.The companys Recursion Operating Systemcombines an advanced infrastructure layer to generate what we believe is one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing proprietary biological and chemical datasets. Four programs are ready to roll into Phase II trialsforfamilial adenomatous polyposis, GM2gangliosidosis, neurofibromatosis type 2, and cerebral cavernous malformation.

AktisOncology

Supported by pharma giants Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis,AktisOncology launched last week with a$72 million Series A.Developing novel, best-in-class tumor-targeting radiopharmaceuticals,Aktis agentshave high tumor penetration but clear from other areas of the body rapidly, maximizing tumor killing while minimizing side effects.Alpha radiotherapy is the future of radiopharmaceuticals, CEO Matthew Roden said. By harnessing the power of alpha particles with nearly 1,000 times the potency of beta particles we believe our approach has the potential to deliver game-changing results for patients.

OssiumHealth

Harnessing the power of stem cells,Ossiumannounced a$63 million Series Bround. Stem cells provide life-saving therapies,andOssiumsplatform recovers, banks and transplants bone marrow rich in the valuable cells.The company said it is bringing the US deceased donor transplant ecosystem into the fight against blood cancers, inflammatory bowel disease, organ rejection, and other life-threatening diseases where stem cell science holds the promise of a cure.

Asher Bio

New targeted immunotherapy player Asher launched this week with a$55 million Series Ato move itslead engineered interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy into human testing next year. AB248 targetsboth an immunomodulatory receptor and a marker specific for CD8-positive effector T cells. Currently in IND-enabling studiesas a monotherapy and in combination with anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors, other cancer immunotherapy and cell therapy combinations are being considered.

Gain Therapeutics

Raising$40 millionon the NASDAQ, Gain completed its IPO last week. Funds will be used to advance pipeline therapeutics for rare genetic diseases characterized by protein misfolding. Gains small molecule drugcandidatescross the blood-brain barrier and penetrate other hard-to-treat organs such as bone and cartilage, stabilize the effective enzyme to restore function and reduce toxic substrate. Disease targets the company is going after includeMorquioB, GM1gangliosidosis, Gaucher and Parkinsons disease.

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Money on the Move: March 17-23 - BioSpace