After nine months of planning, Biogen Inc. delivered its bouncing baby, Bioverativ Inc. The Waltham, Mass.-based spinout emerged with two profitable products, a pipeline of candidates in hemophilia and rare blood diseases, $325 million in cash and no debt, 400 employees and a very large appetite for dealmaking and clinical development.
On the basis of two successful phase III studies in China, Fibrogen Inc. looks headed toward a new drug application submission in the country this year for roxadustat (FG-4592), its oral small molecule to treat anemia in non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD) and dialysis-dependent CKD (DD-CKD) patients.
On the basis of two successful phase III studies in China, Fibrogen Inc. looks headed toward a new drug application submission in the country this year for roxadustat (FG-4592), its oral small molecule to treat anemia in non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD) and dialysis-dependent CKD (DD-CKD) patients.
Historically, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) wasn't exactly viewed as the ideal networking event for academic researchers still toiling in labs on discoveries that might, in the distant future, have therapeutic implications. Aspiring newcos rarely had the manpower or resources to compete with established companies for spots on a big biopharma dance card. Even if they did, most couldn't provide enough data to answer the inevitable questions about the differentiated nature of their technology, let alone its therapeutic potential.
Jounce Therapeutics Inc. rose to the head of the pack of early 2017 biopharma IPOs by pricing an upsized offering of 6.365 million shares at $16 apiece, above the intended range of $13 to $15, for proceeds of $101.8 million, up from its proposed $75 million raise.
Startup Delinia Inc. hitched its potentially transformative immune regulatory wagon to the Celgene Corp. train, agreeing to a potential $775 million acquisition the same day Celgene reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 financial results.
After 30 formal meetings and dozens of informal conversations with former colleagues, industry veteran Jim Burns was still euphoric on the final day of the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan (JPM) Healthcare Conference – his first. After nearly 30 years at Genzyme Corp. and parent company Sanofi SA, where he most recently headed the big pharma's North American R&D hub, Burns came to San Francisco with a new gig as president and CEO of start-up Casebia Therapeutics.
Cue Biopharma Inc. stepped into the bright lights of the immuno-oncology (I-O) stage, adding a $16.4 million round to seed funding of $10 million to accelerate development of its platform of T-cell receptor (TCR) biologics targeting cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Avexxin AS is a testament to perseverance. Over several decades, Berit Johansen, the company's chief scientific officer, conducted basic research into the chronic inflammatory process, both as a visiting scientist at Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Inc. and as a researcher at multiple academic institutions. Johansen's understanding of the intracellular mechanisms of chronic inflammatory diseases, beginning with psoriasis, led to the 2005 incorporation of Avexxin, based on Trondheim, Norway. It took another decade for the company to achieve proof of concept for the topical formulation of its lead compound, AVX001.
