The intellectual property, also held by Eureka, may offer a new pathway for treating relapsed MM patients. Sorrento inks cancer partnerships with Karolinska Institutet and Mayo Clinic.

CEO Michael Gilman, who now helms the company full time, said Arrakis will use its Series B venture capital funding to build a pipeline of drug candidates, primarily in cancer, with the goal of taking its first medicines into the clinic in the next two to three years.

In its continuing efforts to diversify away from opioid pain drugs, Purdue partners on non-opioid program with Alivio. Rigel licenses Tavalisse rights in all indications go to Spain’s Grifols.

BioNTech's $270m Series A round was the biggest start-up financing in January, but sizeable rounds also were raised by Centrexion ($67m), Eureka ($60m) and Pandion ($58m).