Start-Ups & SMEs

The Silicon Valley Bank shutdown was a shock but is not likely to harm the biopharma financial ecosystem long term. The bigger near- to mid-term factor is inflation due to its impact on interest rates.

Although money is too tight to mention for some biotechs, last year the value of preclinical partnerships actually went up and Switzerland’s big two pharma players are on the lookout for more.

The San Francisco-based company has taken a step forward with proof of concept for its ‘switch on or switch off’ approach to gene regulation via non-cutting CRISPR molecules.

The British government helped secure HSBC as a buyer for SVB UK, but sector leaders want to see more support in the shape of sustained R&D tax relief.

Private Company Edition: After just seven venture capital rounds of $100m or more in January and February, five have been announced already in March, including a $200m series A round for Cargo Therapeutics, Chroma Medicine’s $135m series B financing and $112m for Noema’s series B.

Public Company Edition: Summit initiated the big rights offering earlier this year as promised in December when it licensed Akeso’s PD-1/VEGF bispecific. Also, Teva sold $2.49bn in sustainability-linked notes to pay down debt, while MorphoSys, Novavax and others restructured and cut jobs.

Belgium’s Confo Therapeutics gains its first big pharma partner in the field of non-opioid pain treatment, giving the big pharma will test its master protocol approach as it put its R&D muscle behind this major area of unmet need.

Hemab’s series B financing will fund its lead program, currently in Phase I/II for Glanzmann thrombasthenia, as it moves into pivotal testing plus at least one other asset heading into the clinic.

Private Company Edition: Alexis Borisy and his Curie.Bio co-founders will invest $5m-$7m to help companies get to lead optimization within 12-18 months. Also, Feng Zhang-founded Aera launched with $193m, Hexagon Bio raised a $77.3m series B round and Halda emerged with $76m.

Interest in longevity and anti-aging is gathering momentum, and Pfizer has dipped its toe in the water with an early-stage drug discovery partnership.

Recent financings, including the $150m launch of Pathalys and a planned $100m IPO for Mineralys, illustrate the reality of biopharma funding in 2023 – that having near-term clinical trial milestones are key to fundraising this year. Companies with dwindling cash are conserving the funds they have left.

Investors, advisors and CEOs at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and Biotech Showcase were somewhat optimistic about fundraising this year, but noted certain companies may have to call it quits.