Adopting a new strategy in food allergies and others, South San Francisco-based Iggenix Inc. launched with a $10 million series A round to fund work that CEO Bruce Hironaka told BioWorld puts the company “at the front of the wave.” Companies in the allergy space generally “have not taken full advantages of the developments that we’ve seen in the biotech industry over the last 20 or 30 years,” he said.
The matter of how adhesion of its Viaskin Peanut allergy patch relates to efficacy became a major problem for DBV Technologies SA, which drew a complete response letter (CRL) for the once-daily epicutaneous (EPIT) product. Shares of the Montrouge, France-based firm (NASDAQ:DBVT) closed Aug. 4 at $2.34, down $1.76, or 43%, in reaction to the CRL for the patch, designed to protect children ages 4 to 11. The FDA wants DBV to modify the patch, which means a new human-factor study; officials also are requiring clinical data for the modified patch.
Novartis AG didn’t say why the FDA has put off action until September – a delay of three months – on the sBLA for multiple sclerosis (MS) prospect Arzerra (ofatumumab, OMB-157), first cleared in October 2009 for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but the holdup brought renewed attention to the bustling space, and Immunic Inc. – which held its R&D Day on May 27 – is coming on strong.
LONDON – Enthera Pharmaceuticals Srl has announced the largest international series A to date for an Italian biotech, closing a €28 million (US$32.9 million) round, to take programs in type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) into phase I development.
HONG KONG – Looking to boost its R&D capacity, China’s Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. launched an IPO on July 22 that raised ¥1.7 billion (US$240 million) on Shanghai’s STAR market. Shares (SSE:688336) almost doubled in value on the first day of trading, closing at ¥54.10, for a gain of 92%.
DUBLIN – Roche Holding AG has joined Jnana Therapeutics Inc. in its quest to drug the human repertoire of solute carrier (SLC) metabolite transporters as a means of tackling a swath of immune-mediated and neurological diseases. The Basel, Switzerland-based pharma is paying Boston-based Jnana $40 million up front and could pay over $1 billion more in research funding, preclinical, development and commercial milestones, as well as sales royalties, in a multitarget deal.
IPOs from Alx Oncology Holdings Inc. and Pandion Therapeutics Inc. launched July 17 as investors continued to pour money into biopharma’s public sector. Through June, $8.53 billion in biopharma IPOs had been filed so far this year by 35 companies.
The industry's expanding quest for protein degraders grew a little larger on July 9 with Sanofi SA tapping Kymera Therapeutics Inc. to advance two new protein degrader programs, one of which will target IRAK4 in patients with immune-inflammatory diseases and another for an undisclosed target. Each program could yield multiple therapies.
BEIJING – Known for its transgenic mouse platforms to develop antibodies, U.S., China and the Netherlands-based Harbour Biomed Therapeutics Ltd. closed a series C funding round July 9 to raise $102.8 million to advance its late-stage clinical programs and COVID-19 pipeline.
The worldwide option and license agreement Alpine Immune Sciences Inc. drew up with Abbvie Inc. for ALPN-101, a dual CD28/ICOS co-stimulation antagonist for treating systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases, heartily strengthened Alpine’s stock and supports its planned operations into 2023.
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