Structure Therapeutics Inc., a company with operations in the U.S. and China, filed with the U.S. SEC this week to raise up to $100 million through the sale of American depositary shares (ADSs) in an IPO. The number of ADSs and price have not yet been disclosed, but Structure, formerly known as Shouti, will use proceeds to support early clinical work for its GPCR-targeting pipeline. The filing marks the first U.S. IPO bid for 2023, coming off a year in which IPO offerings did not fare well.

CR Biopharm nets $89M in series B round for clinical trials, partnerships

China Resources Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (CR Biopharm) raised ¥600 million (US$89 million) in a series B round led by China Structural Reform Fund Co. Ltd. Beijing, China-based CR Biopharm plans to use the funds to accelerate the discovery of biological drugs and support the ongoing clinical trials of its candidates, as well as look for in-licensing opportunities. The company’s most advanced candidate in its pipeline is CRB-1301, which is currently in a phase III trial for the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Immunogen’s Elahere cancer win boosts enthusiasm for NaPi2b

The recent green light from the U.S. FDA for Immunogen Inc.’s antibody-drug conjugate Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx) further fueled investor hopes for other drugs in the works to target NaPi2b. Immunogen won approval for Elahere for folate receptor-alpha-positive, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, as well as fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer, in patients who have received one to three systemic treatment regimens. Other players in the NaPi2b space include Mersana Therapeutics Inc., Roche Holding AG and Zymeworks Inc.

Following fecal microbiota approval, Biomebank to develop synthetic treatments for gut microbiota

Following Therapeutic Goods Administration approval of its first-generation donor-derived microbiome-based therapy, Biomictra, for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, Australia’s Biomebank is scaling up to meet increasing global demand for fecal microbiota products and is developing a more scalable second-generation synthetic product. The company is working to progress development of its cultured microbiome-based therapies to alleviate microbiome-mediated disease on a larger scale. The mission is to treat and prevent disease by restoring the gut microbial ecology.

Holiday notice

BioWorld's offices will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S. No issue will be published Monday, Jan. 16.

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Adaptive Phage, Advaxis, Aitia, Alvotech, Arecor, Astrazeneca, Biontech, Cambrian, CNS, Cybin, Fuji, G3, Iama, Imunon, Irlab, Midatech, NFL, Oramed, Pfizer, Pheno, Point, Psychogenics, Roche, Shuttle, Takeda, Valirx, Zynerba