With the advent of targeted therapies, cancer drugs have made strides in safety as well as efficacy. Still, because of the life threatening nature of the illness, safety is less of a focus in cancer drugs than other therapy types.
HONG KONG – Mitoimmune Therapeutics Inc., a company that earlier this year completed a ?27.5 billion (US$24.41 million) series B financing led by Korea Development Bank, has received investigational new drug approval in the U.S. for MIT-001, its anti-inflammatory and anti-necrotic agent, moving the company a step closer to entering the clinic.
DUBLIN – Numab Therapeutics AG has moved closer to the front rank of European antibody developers by raising CHF100 million (US$111 million) in a series C financing round to accelerate the development of NM21-1480, a trispecific antibody that acts both as a PD-L1 inhibitor and 4-1BB (CD137) agonist. It also contains a human serum albumin recognition group, to extend its circulatory half-life.
Shanghai-based Elpiscience Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. raised $105 million in a series C financing round to move candidates, starting with an anti-CD39 antibody, into clinical studies in the U.S. The funds will also support the company’s efforts in finding new mechanisms for cancer immunotherapy and potential partners, it said.
HONG KONG – Hummingbird Bioscience Pte. Ltd. has raised $125 million in a series C financing to further investments in its early stage pipeline, as well as support the clinical development of its two lead oncology programs.
PERTH, Australia – Imagion Biosystems Ltd. has entered a collaborative research program with Patrys Ltd. to combine their technologies to target brain tumor imaging and diagnosis.
HONG KONG – Qilu Pharmaceutical Ltd. has inked a deal for the global rights to Peptron Inc.’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate PAb-001-ADC for the treatment of various cancers. Seoul, South Korea-based Peptron stands to receive an up-front payment of $3 million and $539 million in milestone payments, as well as royalties.
While biopharma deals are not showing any drastic changes over last year, three areas that continue to dominate the landscape include the pandemic, oncology and cell and gene therapies. The lack of mega-mergers so far this year, specifically those above $10 billion, is also holding M&A values down by about 61% compared to this point in 2020, even though the number of mergers has climbed.
Less than a year after landing a multibillion-dollar deal expansion with partner Gilead Sciences Inc., targeted cancer drug developer Tango Therapeutics Inc. is making moves to go public via a merger with Boxer Capital LLC-sponsored special purpose acquisition company BCTG Acquisition Corp.
HONG KONG – Privately held Wugen Inc. of St. Louis has inked an exclusive deal with Shanghai-based Alpha Biopharma Ltd. to manufacture, develop and commercialize allogeneic cell products in Asia.
