Despite a global pandemic that is wreaking havoc on the overall economy, biopharma financings and grants during the month of April have shown solid numbers.
9 Meters Biopharma Inc., of Raleigh, N.C., is newly born from the merger of Innovate Biopharmaceuticals Inc. and privately held RDD Pharma Ltd., of New York and Tel Aviv, Israel. About $22 million in new financing, led by Orbimed Advisors Ltd., and the signing of another merger into the new company of Richmond, Calif.-based Naia Rare Diseases Inc., which develops GLP-1 to treat short bowel syndrome, completes 9 Meters’ new path.
Taysha Gene Therapies Inc., a new Dallas-based company reuniting former executives of Avexis Inc. and its funders, has launched with a $30 million seed financing intended to advance a pipeline of 15 new AAV-based candidates. Its team expects to file four INDs by the end of 2021, starting with one for GM2-gangliosidosis that could move to the clinic later this year.
Saratoga, Calif.-based startup Mojo Vision Inc. has raised $51 million in a series B-1 financing led by existing investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The money will be used to advance development of the Mojo Lens, the company’s first-of-a-kind smart contact lens powered by augmented reality (AR) technology.
Temporary cardiac pacing is often required for hospitalized cardiac patients, particularly for increasingly common transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures. Startup Atacor Medical Inc. has raised a $25 million series B round to back its development of a novel extracardiac temporary pacing system. Intriguingly led by an undisclosed corporate partner, the financing is slated to get the company through a U.S. and European pivotal trial, as well as regulatory review in those regions. The San Clemente, Calif.-based startup also aims to continue developing interim and permanent iterations of its system.
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