Frontera Therapeutics Inc. raised $160 million in a series B funding round to develop its lead gene therapy product candidate for retinal disease, FT-001, for which INDs have been approved by the U.S. FDA and China NMPA.
Even without an oracle, it is clear that Delfi Diagnostics Inc.’s $225 million series B fundraising round positions the company well to further develop its liquid biopsy tests for early cancer detection and monitoring. Delfi’s liquid biopsy platform uses a whole genome fragmentation analysis approach for both individual cancer and multicancer detection.
Ophthalmic and microsurgery device maker Carl Zeiss Meditec AG is investing in regenerative medicine startup Precise Bio Ltd. to jointly develop 4D bio-fabricated corneal transplants for diseases that require endothelial keratoplasty and natural lenticule transplants. Under the terms of the agreement, Carl Zeiss Meditec will lead a series B financing round in Precise Bio and fund development of two cornea transplant products.
Investors are backing neurostimulation device company Stimdia Medical Inc. with $16 million, in the first tranche of a series B offering expected to total $30 million. The Minneapolis-based company is developing a device that stimulates the phrenic nerves in a patient’s neck to exercise the diaphragm during mechanical ventilation and minimize ventilation-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction (VIDD).
Agomab Therapeutics NV raised $40.5 million in a series B extension led by Pfizer Inc., which has also come on board as an adviser on the development of AGMB-129, Agomab’s candidate therapy for fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease. The new cash raises the series B total to $114 million.
Ganymed Robotics SAS raised a €21 million (US$21.2 million) series B round to develop its robotic system for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Health care fund Cathay Health led the round, with participation from Credit Mutuel Innovation, Kurma Partners, BNP Paribas Developpement, and individual surgeons. The funds will be used to finalize development of Ganymed’s TKA surgical assistant and support the company’s expansion in France and the U.S.
Mirobio Ltd. is poised to take two checkpoint agonists into the clinic in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, after closing a $97 million series B round. The most advanced program, MB-272, is an agonist of the B and T lymphocyte attenuator receptor that relays inhibitory signals to suppress the immune response. Mirobio says activating it has a “far reaching” regulatory effect, restoring self-tolerance across several major autoimmune diseases, including lupus.
Investors are backing imaging diagnostics company Magnetic Insight Inc. with $17 million to develop its magnetic particle imaging (MPI) technology. The clinical imaging application consists of two core technologies: hardware and a tracer that, together, produce 3D images of how a patient’s body works. Venture firm Celesta Capital led the series B round with Alumni Ventures Group, Gaingels and existing investors 5AM Ventures and Sand Hill Angels participating.
Philadelphia’s Mineralys Therapeutics Inc. has secured a further $118 million to develop MLS-101, a potential hypertension drug in-licensed from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp.