Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio) Inc., a company developing targeted therapies for severe immune-mediated diseases, has secured $120 million in financing. Its initial pipeline is built around two clinical-stage immunology assets in-licensed from Morphosys AG in June 2022. The funds will help the company move through key inflection points over the coming years, in both in its ongoing clinical and discovery programs, where it's currently focused on the role of mast cells as a cellular driver of disease.
Odyssey Therapeutics Inc. closed a hefty $168 million series B round to progress multiple small-molecule and protein-based drug discovery and development programs in autoimmune disease and cancer.
A new vaccine that uses the native-like HIV-1 envelope (Env) trimer CH505 and a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7/8 agonist adjuvant, successfully evaluated in macaques, generated potent polyclonal neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) and a high protection against the infection of the homologous simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV).
Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. has cut a deal with Sanofi SA to discover and develop small molecules to treat targets in oncology and immunology, adding to its lengthy list of partnerships.
Now is a good time to be involved with type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, according to a U.K. biotech that hopes to reduce or cut the need for insulin injections to treat the condition.
Privately held Amphista Therapeutics Ltd. has cut massive deals with two biopharma giants, Merck KGaA and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMS), that together could bring the company up to $2.25 billion. The companies will use Amphista’s Eclipsys platform to generate protein degrader-based therapeutics. Merck is looking to discover and develop small-molecule protein degraders for treating cancer and immune disease. Indications in the BMS deal were not announced.
Shares in Pharming Group NV were up after the company announced detailed data from its phase II/III trial of leniolisib for the rare disease activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta (PI3K-delta) syndrome (APDS).
The deal that could bring IGM Biosciences Inc. more than $6 billion is 2022’s largest and cracks the BioWorld top 10 list as the ninth biggest ever. Sanofi SA and IGM agreed to develop, manufacture and commercialize immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody agonists in treating cancer and immunology/inflammation targets. IGM is getting $150 million up front once the deal closes, which the company expects to happen in the second quarter of 2022.
Remix Therapeutics Inc., a company developing small molecules to manipulate RNA processing, stands to earn upward of $1 billion through a new strategic collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. A Cambridge, Mass.-based startup, Remix last year patented new RNA splicing modulators. It will receive an initial payment of $45 million for research funding plus potential preclinical, clinical, commercial and sales milestone payments, and royalties. Janssen gains exclusive rights to three targets with applications in immunology and oncology.
Odyssey Therapeutics Inc. launched with a whopping $218 million series A round, the year’s second-largest, to fuel work by almost 100 employees recruited in the past few months, mostly from big pharma firms.
