Dark genome miner Enara Bio Ltd. has closed a $32.5 million series B that will see the lead program targeting the first of a novel class of cancer antigens it has discovered through to the clinic. Enara calls these cancer antigens “dark antigens” (the name is trademarked). It says they can be found in solid tumors irrespective of the immune phenotype, and are often expressed at high prevalence across multiple different tumors.
Resolution Therapeutics Ltd. is preparing for a phase I/II trial of its autologous engineered macrophage cell therapy, RTX-001, in the treatment of end-stage liver disease and has raised £63.5 million (US$83.3 million) to complete the study and to add further fibrotic and inflammatory disease programs to its portfolio. Recruitment to the study, to be conducted at 15 sites in Spain and the U.K., is due to start before the end of 2024, with the monocyte-derived patient macrophages being processed and modified at a facility in Edinburgh.
Immunotherapy company Cartherics Pty Ltd. raised AU$15 million (US$10.3 million) in an oversubscribed series B round that will support the first clinical trial for lead chimeric antigen receptor natural killer therapy CTH-401 for ovarian cancer, and to expand its pipeline to include other diseases.
In one of the largest private rounds raised by an Italian biotech, Genespire Srl has closed a €46.6 million (US$51.88 million) series B, enabling it to lay the ground for a phase I/II clinical trial of its lead program, Gene-202, and to further develop its proprietary lentiviral vectors. The vectors are designed to be applicable to a range of liver-related metabolic disorders and, as its first indication, the company intends to treat methylmalonic acidemia, a serious genetic condition that results in impaired metabolism of certain amino acids and lipids.
Vicebio Ltd. is funded to take two of its molecular clamp respiratory infection vaccines through phase II development, after raising $100 million in a series B.
Seoul, South Korea-based Adel Inc. raised ₩17 billion (US$12.39 million) in bridge financing to advance its pipeline of Alzheimer’s disease therapies, including its tau antibody-based ADEL-Y01 candidate, currently in a U.S.-based phase I study.
GPCR drug discovery and development specialist Confo Therapeutics NV has closed a €60 million (US$65.2 million) series B round that will fund a significant expansion of the inhouse portfolio while it continues to turn the handle on its technology platform to generate more compounds for partnering.
In one of the largest venture rounds for biopharma in 2024, Cardurion Pharmaceuticals Inc. closed a $260 million series B financing, with funds slated to advance and expand its pipeline for potentially first-in-class drugs targeting cardiovascular disease, including two programs in phase II development.
Altos Biologics Inc., founded as an eye disease-focused subsidiary of Alteogen Inc. in 2020, raised ₩24.5 billion (US$17.7 million) in a series B financing round to advance its pipeline of therapeutics for eye-related conditions, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Daejeon, South Korea-based Alteogen said July 9 that the funds raised will be funneled to develop OP-01, Altos’ candidate therapy for AMD.
One year after arriving on the scene with a $120 million series A, ophthalmic gene therapy specialist Beacon Therapeutics Ltd. has raised $170 million in a series B.
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