In February, the biopharma industry sustained the positive momentum observed in January, with total financings increasing 105.94%, reaching $22.3 billion compared to $10.83 billion the first month of the year. The amount positions February as the second-highest month in BioWorld’s records, trailing only May 2020, which saw $23.98 billion in total financings.
A long-running lobbying effort has paid off, with the announcement of two U.K. government-backed investment vehicles through which pension funds will be able to invest in early stage private life sciences companies.
Sionna Therapeutics Inc.’s approach with small molecules in cystic fibrosis (CF) yielded the Boston-based firm an upsized and oversubscribed $182 million series C financing. The company is working on drugs that could fully restore the function of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator protein by stabilizing the first nucleotide-binding domain (NBD1). Four compounds are expected to enter the clinic this year – three NBD1 stabilizers and one ICL4 modulator.