SEOUL – After a decade of steady increases, venture capital (VC) investments in South Korea's biotech sector are more active. But for the country's strategic financial plan to be sustainable, it will have to further strengthen its science capabilities, according to experts at the Korea Bio Investment Conference (KBIC) last week in Seoul.

SEOUL – South Korea's investors have become very interested in the global cell and gene therapy market. Licensing and M&A deals in the field have been active – a good sign for Korean biopharma firms eager to tap in.

BEIJING – Multinational antibody specialist Hifibio Therapeutics Inc. said it closed a $67 million series C financing round to advance its drug candidates for cancer and autoimmune disorders.

DUBLIN – Gyroscope Therapeutics Ltd. raised £50.4 million (US$60.5 million) to further development of GT-005, its clinical-stage gene therapy for treating dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and to advance a second-generation of the subretinal delivery system it gained through its recent merger with Orbit Biomedical Ltd.

LONDON – Achilles Therapeutics Ltd. closed a £100 million (US$120 million) series B round to fund two proof-of-concept studies of its next-generation T-cell immunotherapy in solid tumors, and to build a commercial-scale, fully automated facility for manufacturing the personalized product.

SEOUL – After a decade of steady increases, venture capital (VC) investments in South Korea's biotech sector are more active. But for the country's strategic financial plan to be sustainable, it will have to further strengthen its science capabilities, according to experts at the Korea Bio Investment Conference (KBIC) last week in Seoul.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped the med-tech industry in numerous ways. From genomics, to screening, to diagnostics, AI has made things easier for clinicians.

And that has caught the eye of investors. According to Mercom Capital Group LLC, as a whole, digital health venture capital funding in the second quarter 2019 jumped from the previous quarter ($3.1 billion raised in 169 deals vs. $2 billion raised in 149 deals).

Rakuten Medical Inc., the developer of a precision photoimmunotherapy platform targeting head and neck cancer, has raised about $100 million in a series C-1 preferred stock financing from Rakuten Inc., a global internet services company headquartered in Japan that now owns 22.5% of the company. 

HONG KONG – Chengdu-based Hinova Pharmaceuticals Inc., of China's Sichuan province, closed a series B financing that added $40 million to the company's pocket. The proceeds will go to the global phase III study for lead asset HC-1119 for prostate cancer.

LONDON – Quanta Dialysis Technologies Ltd. has raised £38 million (US$46.7 million) in the first close of a series C round, to fund a U.S. FDA 510(k) submission and U.K. commercial launch of its SC+ home hemodialysis system. With the cash now in hand, both these events are due to occur before the end of 2019. "We've got a lot of work to do," said John Milad, CEO of Quanta. "This is the rocket fuel."