Two biopharma companies entered the public markets on July 14, with Apogee Therapeutics Inc. pricing a $300 million IPO, the second largest U.S. debut this year, and Sagimet Biosciences Inc. raising $85 million. Apogee, of San Francisco, and Waltham, Mass., is advancing APG-777 and APG-808, which are in development for atopic dermatitis (AD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while San Mateo, Calif.-based Sagimet’s lead candidate is the FASN inhibitor denifanstat for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
On the back of what Arthrosi Therapeutics LLC has called “remarkable efficacy and safety” data from a phase IIb trial of AR-882, a next-generation URAT1 inhibitor for treating gout, the company has padded its coffers with a $75 million series D round led by Guangrun Health Industry Co. Ltd. and backed by investors that include Reichstein Biotech Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Arthrosi’s China joint venture partner Apichope Pharmaceuticals.
The U.K. medical research charity Lifearc has launched the first part of a £100 million (US$130 million) plan to promote translation of biomedical research into therapies for rare diseases, opening the program with a £2.5 million call for projects to repurpose existing drugs to treat the debilitating inherited skin disease epidermolysis bullosa (EB).
Taking aim at the elusive place where stubborn cancer cells multiply, Crossbow Therapeutics Inc. has launched with $80 million in funds through a series A round. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company plans to advance its novel therapies, which mimic T-cell receptors and target peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complexes on cancer cells. If all goes well, the first product will be in the clinic in 2025.
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