LONDON – Mirobio Ltd. has spun out of Oxford University, raising £27 million (US$33.3 million) to develop antibody-based therapies designed to activate immune checkpoint receptors in the treatment of autoimmune disorders.

Zielbio Inc., of Charlottesville, Va., closed on a $25.1 million series A financing to further its lead candidate, ZB-131, a humanized monoclonal antibody against cell surface plectin, which is expressed on the plasma membrane of ovarian, pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancer cells.

LONDON – Tacalyx GmbH has raised €7 million (US$7.7 million) in seed funding to initiate research on a new generation of antibodies targeted at tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) expressed on a wide variety of tumor cells.

Versatope Therapeutics Inc., a company developing a universal influenza vaccine in Lowell, Mass., has been awarded a contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases worth up to $17.9 million over five years to support completion of a phase I study slated to wrap up in 2022.

PERTH, Australia – Stem cell therapy has failed to deliver on its promises, according to Exopharm Ltd. founder and CEO Ian Dixon, who said he believes that exosomes, or the extracellular vesicles released by stem cells, could be a disrupter in the regenerative medicine space.

BEIJING – Despite tensions between the U.S. and China, especially in the tech sector, Oncologie Inc. maintains its plans to pursue drug development in both markets. The clinical-stage startup, led by U.S. scientists and funded with Chinese capital, has stationed itself in both Boston and Shanghai to focus on developing innovative cancer therapies simultaneously in China and the U.S.

BEIJING – Chinese startup Biotheus Inc., of Zhuhai, Guangdong, has its sights fixed on bispecific and multitarget antibodies to maximize drug efficacy. A biotech innovator based in the south of China, it is gained support from local authorities that aim to create another biotech hub in the country.

BEIJING – Chinese startup Biotheus Inc., of Zhuhai, Guangdong, has its sights fixed on bispecific and multitarget antibodies to maximize drug efficacy. A biotech innovator based in the south of China, it gained support from local authorities that aim to create another biotech hub in the country.

HONG KONG – Singaporean biotech company Aum Biosciences Pte. Ltd. has in-licensed a potentially first-in-class PIM/PI3K/mTOR inhibitor from Inflection Biosciences Ltd., of Dublin and London, to develop it globally to treat a wide range of cancers.

HONG KONG –Biocure Technology Corp., a Canadian biopharmaceutical company focusing on biosimilar products, is advancing a CAR T product through its South Korean subsidiary, Biocurepharm Inc., thanks to a recently closed private placement.