At first glance, Cellarity Inc. might appear as one more company harnessing the computational power of AI and machine learning to boost drug discovery efforts. A closer look, however, reveals a different approach, one that looks at cells and cellular behavior to address disease rather than the traditional method of seeking out molecular targets.
Imcheck Therapeutics SAS raised €80 million (US $83.5 million) in a series C round to maintain the momentum of its lead development program, ICT-01, an immunostimulatory antibody that activates gamma-delta T cells.
Kriya Therapeutics Inc. has raised a $270 million series C financing to further develop its pipeline of gene therapies for treating cancer, ophthalmological problems, and rare and chronic diseases. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company has greatly expanded its employee roster, from about seven people to around 160 people, since its $80 million series A in May 2020 and scaled its learning-enabled tech and cloud computing abilities. It also further solidified its technology, manufacturing, R&D, and therapeutics units, something it plans to continue with the series C money.
Neuron23 Inc. came out of stealth mode in late 2020 with a $113.5 million combined series A and B round to support its AI-enabled drug discovery effort aimed at bringing a precision medicine approach to neuroimmunology. Now it has added another $100 million in a series C financing as it gears up to move into clinical testing with lead programs targeting LRRK2 and TYK2.
Fungal biosphere specialist Lifemine Therapeutics Inc. has struck a goldmine through a $175 million series C financing and an R&D collaboration allowing Glaxosmithkline plc (GSK) to use the company's platform to identify small-molecule leads.
Biorchestra Co. Ltd. has raised ₩54 billion ($45.1 million) in its latest series C fundraising, which will boost the development of the company’s lead RNA-based candidate for treating neurodegenerative diseases. BMD-001 is Daejeon, South Korea-based Biorchestra’s antisense oligonucleotide candidate for treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Ventus Therapeutics Inc. closed a $140 million series C financing to continue scaling its platform to address previously undruggable targets. The company said it plans to advance programs targeting key modulators of the innate immune system and other therapies, including two targeting NLRP3 (NLR pyrin domain-containing 3) and one targeting cGAS, into the clinic. It plans to submit INDs for three programs in 2023.
LONDON – Metabolic diseases specialist Northsea Therapeutics BV closed a $80 million series C to fund phase II development in two further indications, as it awaits the final results from the phase IIb trial of its lead product, icosabutate, in the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which are due at the start of 2023.
Abogen Biosciences Co. Ltd. has raised $300 million in a series C+ round to support the development of its mRNA products, specifically to support the development of its COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and expand to the global market.