Pattern Bioscience Inc. reeled in $28.7 million in a series C financing led by Illumina Ventures and Omnimed Capital. The money will be used to complete development of its rapid phenotypic test platform for infectious diseases, conduct clinical validation studies and submit the platform and Pattern’s initial test, for pneumonia, for U.S. FDA review.
Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Bitbiome Inc. have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the creation of new drugs targeting infectious diseases with unmet medical needs.
Ocean Biomedical Inc., a company with preclinical programs in oncology, fibrosis, infectious disease treatments and vaccines, is poised to go public via a merger with Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Nonprofit deals with biopharma companies in 2022 indicate that 92% of the disclosed funds are going toward infectious disease therapies, with COVID-19 accounting for 79% of the total.
New data confirming that Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Hepcludex (bulevirtide) effectively cures hepatitis delta virus (hepatitis D), one of the most severe viral infections of the liver, and favorable phase III results from Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) contender were among the highest-profile scientific announcements at the International Liver Congress (ILC) 2022.
Nonprofit deals with biopharma companies in 2022 indicate that 92% of the disclosed funds are going toward infectious disease therapies, with COVID-19 accounting for 79% of the total.
LONDON – There was a marked increase in the projected return on investment in pharma R&D in 2021, which rose to 7%, the highest level since 2014. That was up from a lowly 2.7% in 2020 and – even worse – 1.8% in 2019, according to the 12th annual report tracking ROI by the consultants Deloitte. But while 7% is a significant improvement, it is still below the projected ROI when the first edition of ‘Measuring the Return from Pharmaceutical Innovation’ was published in 2010, in response to concerns that pharma was spending more and more on R&D while getting less out. At that point, projected ROI was 10.1%.
DUBLIN – A meaty licensing deal with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. is as good a time as any to unveil a new corporate identity. Nykode Therapeutics AS, the Norwegian immunotherapy firm formerly known as Vaccibody, is banking $30 million up front, another $20 million as an equity investment, and could earn up to $875 million more in development and commercial milestones across a multiproduct deal to develop vaccines for cancer and infectious disease.
Color Health Inc. followed its rainbow to another pot of gold, collecting $100 million in a series E financing round led by Kindred Ventures and funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. Returning funding round participants also included General Catalyst, the company’s long-time lead investor, Viking Global Investors and Emerson Collective. With the latest cash infusion, the company’s total funds raised to date reached $378 million and its valuation of $4.6 billion propelled it into the top dozen health care unicorns. Founded in 2017 as Color Genomics, the Burlingame, Calif.-based company has raised more than two-thirds of its total funding this year with today’s series E following the close of a $167 million series D round in January.
Brii Biosciences Ltd. raised HK$2.482 billion (US$319 million) in its IPO in Hong Kong and will use the proceeds to support the development of its key assets, which includes programs for hepatitis B virus (HBV), HIV and drug-resistant infections.
