The year 2024 squeaked through another IPO this week, that of Actuate Therapeutics Inc., which raised $22.4 million becoming the 15th biopharma company to debut on U.S. exchanges this year. Out of 17 companies total, including one listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and another on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the industry has raised a total of $4.8 billion through IPOs.

European biopharmas saw a huge surge in new funding in the second quarter of 2024, raising a collective $4.1 billion, compared to $1.9 billion in the same period of 2023. With the IPO market in Europe still virtually non-existent, $1.45 billion of this was venture capital, while $2.64 billion was raised in follow-on funding. The majority of VC funding was raised by companies in five countries, with $799.6 million raised in the U.K., $272.5 million in Switzerland, $201.8 million raised in Germany, $59 million in France and $25.7 million in Sweden.

Kytopen Corp. has received a phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant of $1.6 million from the NIAID/NIH to support preclinical studies of its engineered natural killer (NK) cells. The funding will be used to conduct in vivo preclinical studies, which will be conducted by Charles River Laboratories

Abata Therapeutics Inc. announced it has received an equity investment from Bristol Myers Squibb to support the development of its Treg cell therapy products. Their investment supports Abata's continued advancement into the clinic, with trial initiation imminent for ABA-101 in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Abata obtained FDA clearance for a first-in-human study of ABA-101 in patients with MS in July.

Kalm Therapeutics Inc. disclosed a $700,000 oversubscribed closing of its seed round, which will be used to complete regulatory activities outlined in Kalm’s pre-IND meeting with the U.S. FDA, fund personnel and transfer the company’s patch production to a manufacturer.