Start-Ups & SMEs

The German biotech has raised a significant sum to advance its T-cell therapies for solid tumors developed using its transgenic mouse technology platform.

Artios Pharma rides the wave of DDR enthusiasm following the recent signing of big pharma partnerships with a financing to bring its first-in-class cancer treatments into the clinic.

Sweden-based Anocca AB will use a just completed $47m Series B financing to advance its industrialized cellular biology platform and pipeline of TCR-T cellular therapies into Phase I/IIa oncology clinical trials, its CEO tells Scrip. 

Private Company Edition: Amylyx will use its new cash to run a Phase III trial and submit applications seeking EU and Canadian approvals of AMX0035, but US filing plans based on prior Phase II/III data are less clear. Also, three VC firms raised new funds targeting biopharma and other investments.

Swedish biotech Amniotics is developing a broad pipeline of unique stem cell therapeutics based on technology that is broadly applicable to major disease markets which should eventually draw the attention of big pharma players, its CEO tells Scrip.

The under-pressure drugs giant has something to cheer with plans for a new campus that could attract several world-class research organizations to its doorstep and bring a multi-million pound windfall from the sale of land.

Wugen has worked on its platform in stealth mode while co-founders at Washington University in St. Louis tested initial product WU-NK-101 in AML. Its new funding will support company-sponsored trials. 

A new UK company, Poolbeg Pharma, has been set up to develop new anti-infectives in an efficient manner, and already has a repositioned MAP kinase inhibitor for the treatment of severe influenza ready for Phase II studies.

Private Company Edition: With $8.9bn raised in the second quarter, venture capital investment in biopharma companies reached its second highest quarterly total to date – behind only Q1 of this year. Also, Nimbus Therapeutics raised $105m and European drug developers get in on the VC action. 

The biotech sector is awash with capital and the rise of the virtual roadshow is breaking down geographic barriers, giving European firms a better chance to impress US investors.

Backed by investors such as Sofinnova, Polaris and Sanofi Ventures, Muna has assembled a strong team dedicated to developing small molecules to repair neuronal dysfunction and resolve neuroinflammation.

Axel Hoos will become the CEO of a Boston-based cancer start-up focusing on targeted precision drugs. He talked to Scrip about the decision to leave GSK after 10 years.