DUBLIN – Aprea Therapeutics AB took in SEK512 million (US$56.4 million) in a series C round to continue development of its first-in-class cancer drug, APR-246, which is currently undergoing clinical trials in a swathe of cancer indications, all of which involve mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor.

DUBLIN – Wuxi Nextcode is making Dublin a key hub in its strategy to build out its population genomics research platform by taking over Genomics Medicine Ireland Ltd. and embarking on a potential $400 million investment program, $225 million of which is committed up front.

DUBLIN – Maat Pharma SA returns to the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting next month with a complete readout of its phase Ib/IIa trial of autologous fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) to combat dysbiosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients undergoing intensive induction chemotherapy. The company posted interim data from the same study last year.

DUBLIN – Camel-IDS NV closed a €37 million ($41.8 million) series A funding round to take forward a pipeline of single-domain antibodies linked to a radionuclide, including a lead molecule in development for treating brain metastases in HER2+ breast cancer patients.

DUBLIN – There are 98 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) monotherapy development programs currently in the clinic, in addition to the four products already on the market, Steve Coats, vice president of R&D at the Medimmune arm of London-based Astrazeneca plc, told the audience at a workshop session on ADC warheads at the 30th annual EORTC-NCI-AACR meeting Wednesday. "They're probably not the magic bullets we had anticipated," he admitted. Nevertheless, interest in those agents remains high because of their ability to elicit responses in highly refractory cancer patients.

DUBLIN – Alzecure Pharma AB is set to become the latest biotech firm to join the ranks of listed companies in Sweden. The Huddinge-based company last week priced an IPO on the First North Premier exchange at SEK14 (US$1.54) per share. The offer, which comprises about 14.3 million shares, will raise SEK200 million and value the firm at about SEK500 million. It has already received advance commitments covering 77 percent of the base offering. Should demand for shares exceed supply, the company has also put in place an extension option, which would raise another SEK50 million.

COPENHAGEN – Given the central role of Copenhagen in the industrialization of insulin production almost a century ago and given its ongoing strength in diabetes through the presence of global leader Novo Nordisk A/S, it was fitting that the region's next generation of contenders was invited to pitch its wares at a metabolic disease showcase on the final day of BIO-Europe.

COPENHAGEN – A certain online Seattle retailer unexpectedly featured during a BIO-Europe panel discussion Tuesday on transformative deals in the pharma industry. In among the anecdotes and insights about the deals that enabled certain well-known drug assets to get to market – and that may in the future enable certain lesser known assets to follow – Amazon.com's entry into pharmaceutical distribution through its acquisition of the Boston-based online pharmacy Pillpack Inc. sparked some uneasy reflection.