Tiburio Therapeutics, Inc.

2024年6月，在生物医药领域，3家公司采取IPO形式上市，1家公司SPAC合并上市，1家公司反向并购上市，1家公司进行分拆上市。 IPO上市 6月，有3家医药公司采用IPO形式上市，融资规模为7.57亿美元。 今年以来，生物医药领域已经有14家公司IPO上市，累计融资规模超22亿美元，其中不乏CG Oncology、Kyverna Therapeutics等IPO规模超3亿美元的公司。 IPO存在严重分化现象，在近两个月公开递交上市的医药公司有Artiva Biotherapeutics、Actuate Therapeutics等十余家，最终上市的仅有3家，甚至还出现了核药巨头Telix Pharmaceuticals撤销IPO的现象。 1、Rapport(NASDAQ:RAPP) 6月7日，Rapport Therapeutics在纳斯达克交易所上市，发行价为美股17美元，发行800万股，IPO规模达1.36亿美元，是今年第七家IPO规模超过1亿美元的创新药公司。 Rapport Therapeutics由著名生物医药投资机构Third Rock Ventures 和强生的投资部门JJDC联合成立于2022年，是一家专注于开发治疗神经系统疾病的精准靶向小分子药物公司，曾入选BioSpace评出的NextGen Class of 2024。 Rapport利用基因组学、蛋白质科学和大脑成像技术来识别用于神经药物的受体相关蛋白（RAP）。与传统疗法不同的是，Rapport利用RAP来发现选择性作用于基因和临床验证靶点的小分子疗法，以前所未有的精度靶向神经系统疾病病理生理学特定神经解剖区域的受体。 Rapport的创始人兼首席科学官David Bredt博士是受体相关蛋白（RAP）生物和治疗应用的开拓者，在20多年前就发现了RAP及其在调节受体表达和功能中的作用，并提出利用RAP来靶向特定神经元回路的设想，有潜力减少不需要的药物与靶标的相互作用，最终实现以更大的功效和更少的副作用来调节神经递质受体。 目前，Rapport仅有一款药物RAP-219，用于治疗耐药性癫痫症，处于临床一期研发阶段。 Rapport的管理团队经验丰富，创始人兼首席科学官David Bredt博士拥有20多年的神经科学药物研发经验，曾担任礼来公司神经科学副总裁和Janssen Neuroscience神经科学研发全球主管；首席执行官Abraham N.Ceesay博士曾担任Cerevel（被艾伯维收购）总裁、Tiburio Therapeutics首席执行官等职务。 Rapport亦有名声卓著的科学顾问委员会，包括诺奖得主、美国国家医学院和美国国家科学院的院士David Julius博士、诺奖得主、英国皇家科学学会院士David MacMillan博士、美国国家科学院院士Allan Basbaum博士、美国癫痫协会的前任主席Jeffrey L.Noebels博士等专家。 在一级市场，Rapport受到资本的追捧，进行了两轮融资： 2023年3月，公司完成了1亿美元的A轮融资。本轮融资由Third Rock Ventures、ARCH Venture和JJDC领投； 2023年8月，公司宣布完成1.5亿美元B轮融资。本轮融资由Cormorant Asset领投，富达、高盛、Third Rock Ventures、ARCH Venture、JJDC等机构跟投。 2、Alumis(NASDAQ:ALMS) 6月28日，Alumis(NASDAQ:ALMS)在美国纳斯达克交易所上市，发行价为每股16美元，发行1312.5万股，IPO规模达2.1亿美元，是今年以来，IPO发行规模第三大的创新药公司。 Alumis成立于2021年，由Foresite Capital旗下的Forsite Labs孵化设立，是一家专注于TYK2抑制剂在自体免疫性疾病领域运用的生物医药公司。 目前，Alumis有两款在研药物，其中进度最快的是ESK-001。该药物源自海思科旗下的子公司FT集团。 2021年，FT集团以6000万美元首付款，以及1.2亿美元里程碑的价格将TYK2项目转让给FL2021-001公司（Alumis的前身）。 ESK-001是一款高选择性且有Best-in-Class潜力的TYK2抑制剂，研发进度处于全球第三，仅次于BMS和武田。 ESK-001在其选择性、优化的分子性质/药代动力学、最大化靶点抑制效应、更好的耐受性等方面均具有差异化的优势。在不久前发布的治疗中重度斑块状银屑病的临床二期STRIDE试验中，ESK001的数据优异： 有效性方面，228例银屑病患者随机接受5种剂量ESK-001或安慰剂治疗12周后，治疗组均达到了PASI 75的主要终点与关键的次要疗效终点，并且展现出明显的剂量依赖性； 安全性方面，治疗组没有出现与治疗相关的严重不良事件，AE发生率与安慰剂组相近。 Alumis计划在2024年下半年推进ESK-001用于治疗中重度斑块状银屑病的3期试验，同时开展两项治疗系统性红斑狼疮和非传染性葡萄膜炎的2期临床试验。随着今年下半年ESK-001的三期临床启动，海思科预计将收到第二个里程碑付款（约1284.32万美元）。 Alumis的另一款药物A-005是一种中枢神经系统渗透性变构TYK2抑制剂，用于治疗神经炎症和神经退行性疾病，2024年4月在健康志愿者中启动了A-005的临床一期试验，测试其在健康志愿者中的安全性和耐受性，预计在今年年底前发布初步结果。 公司CEO Martin Babler于曾担任Principia Biopharma的总裁兼CEO（被赛诺菲收购）与Talima Therapeutics的总裁兼CEO。在此之前，他曾在Genentech、礼来担任免疫学副总裁等多个职位。 在一级市场，Alumis在3年时间累计融资5.29亿美元（不含IPO融资），从金额上来看，Alumis凭借ESK-001获得的融资金额已经远超引进资产的潜在总成本（为什么license-out的中国药物常被赚取差价？）： 2021年5月，Alumis完成的7000万美元A轮融资，由创始股东Foresite Capital投资； 2022年1月，Alumis完成2亿美元的B轮融资。本轮融资投资方有Matrix Capital、Baker Brothers、Foresite Capital等机构； 2024年3月，Alumis完成2.59亿美元的C轮融资。本轮融资由Foresite Capital、Samsara、venBio Partners共同领投，Cormorant Asset、SR One、礼来亚洲、Nextech、Ally Bridge 、HBM Healthcare、Omega Funds、Piper Heartland Healthcare、AyurMaya等机构跟投。 TYK2赛道属于biotech领域的热点之一，多家TYK2药企获得融资或合作： 2022年12月，武田与Nimbus Therapeutics就TYK2抑制剂TAK-279（此前名为NDI-034858）达成了总额60亿美元的合作； 2023年1月，TYK2药物公司Myrobalan获得2400万美元的A轮融资； 2024年1月，TYK2药物公司Sudo Bio完成1.47亿美元的B轮融资。 3、Tempus AI(NASDAQ:TEM) 6月14日，Tempus AI在美国纳斯达克交易所上市，发行价为每股37美元，发行1110万股，IPO规模达4.1亿美元。 Tempus AI成立于2015年，是一家人工智能驱动的精准医疗公司。公司的创始人是知名创业者Eric Lefkofsky，他曾创立多家互联网企业，包括礼品网站Starbelly、打印采购服务公司InnerWorkings、货运物流公司Echo Global Logistics和广告分析公司MediaBank。 其中最为知名的是团购网站Groupon，该公司在2011年在纳斯达克上市，市值一度超过177亿美元，Lefkofsky财富也达到了数十亿美元。 Tempus开发了一个数据网络，包括专有软件和专用数据管道，以提供低价测序服务为切口，自建了CLIA认证的自动化实验室，覆盖了2000多个医疗机构的约450个独特数据库，已经积累了超过9亿份文档，560万份匿名患者记录，其中包括约13亿页丰富的临床文档、100万条带有图像数据的记录、超过90万条带有与基因组信息相关的匹配临床记录，以及超过22万条带有完整转录组谱的记录。 目前，基于庞大的数据库，Tempus提供三项产品： 基因组学产品线：利用tempus的实验室为医疗保健服务提供商、生命科学公司、研究人员和其他第三方提供NGS诊断、分子基因分型及解剖和分子病理学测试； 数据和服务产品线：主要有两个产品，一是Insights产品，tempus授权相关的临床、分子和成像去识别数据库，并为制药和生物技术公司提供一套分析和云计算工具。二是试验服务，利用公司在肿瘤学领域合作的医生网络，为制药公司提供临床试验支持，让制药公司有机会接触到难以找到和服务不足的患者群体。 人工智能平台Next：利用机器学习主动识别和减少肿瘤和心脏病患者的护理差距，亦计划利用大语言模型、生成式人工智能和临床数据库来开发算法诊断。 根据2023年的收入，Tempus的产品已被约95%的制药公司采用，客户包括葛兰素史克、辉瑞、阿斯利康等。 Tempus在上市之前已经累计获得九轮总计13亿美元的融资，其中不乏软银、普信集团、诺德诺德、富兰克林邓普顿基金、谷歌等知名机构。 2023年，Tempus收入达5.32亿美元，同比增长65.73%，2024年Q1，公司实现了1.46亿美元的收入，不过公司尚未盈利，2022年和2023年分别亏损2.9亿美元和2.14亿美元。 Tempus未来的战略重点是将其产品服务扩展到肿瘤学以外的其他疾病类别，例如癌症、心脏病学、神经心理学和放射学的人工智能诊断和个性化医疗。 SPAC上市 6月，生物医药领域仅有1家公司完成与SPAC公司的合并，但公司质量较为一般。 反向并购上市（Reverse Merger） 5-6月，共有1家生物医药公司宣布了反向并购上市。 1、Reneo(NASDAQ:RPHM) 5月13日，Reneo(NASDAQ:RPHM)宣布与OnKure合并，合并后的实体将作为OnKure运营，将继续在纳斯达克交易所以OKUR的代码上市。 在宣布合并的同时，Reneo(NASDAQ:RPHM)获得6500万美元的PIPE融资，投资方有Acorn Bioventures, Cormorant Asset, Deep Track, Perceptive Advisors, Samsara bioccapital, Surveyor Capital (Citadel旗下公司)和Vestal Point Capital，预计合并完成后的公司拥有1.2亿美元的现金。 OnKure总成立于2011年，是一家表观遗传疗法研发公司，旨在延迟对药物靶向治疗的耐药性和利用合成致死性来治疗患者。 OnKure的研发管线主要是选择性P13Kα H1047R抑制剂。PI3Kα是癌症中最常见的突变癌基因，而PI3Kα h1047r是该基因中最常见的突变，在15%的乳腺癌和4%的癌症中都有发现。虽然靶向PI3Kα的新型药物已被批准，但这些治疗方法缺乏突变选择性，通过抑制各种组织中该蛋白的正常版本，导致相当大的靶毒性。 OnKure的药物OKI-219是一款潜在best in class的高选择性PI3Kα H1047R口服抑制剂，于2024年2月进入临床一期阶段，旨在评估OKI-219作为晚期实体瘤患者的单药治疗和晚期乳腺癌患者的内分泌治疗或HER-2靶向治疗的安全性、耐受性、药代动力学、药效学和疗效。 OnKure的两项临床前药物也属于P13Ka靶点领域，一款药物针对H1047X突变，另一款药物则针对E542K和E545K突变。 其他公司也在开发对PI3Kα突变的疗法，包括Relay Therapeutics正在研究一种泛选择性抑制剂、Scorpion Therapeutics也有自己的小分子突变选择性阻滞剂，同样处于1期研究中，而礼来公司也有一种PI3Kα抑制剂。 OnKure成立至今一共完成了8轮，共计约1.198亿美元的融资，其中不乏贝莱德、Perceptive Advisors、Acorn Bioventures等知名机构，以及德联资本、龙磐资本等中资机构。 分拆上市（Spin-Off） 6月，有1家公司以分拆的方式在纳斯达克交易所上市。 1、Grail(NASDAQ:GRAL) 6月25日，Grail从母公司Illumina(NASDAQ:ILMN)分拆，在纳斯达克交易所上市。 Grail成立于2016年，是一家癌症早筛公司，由全球基因测序巨头Illumina投资1亿美元设立，此后获得了强生、亚马逊、麦肯锡、工商银行、高瓴资本、红杉资本、通和毓承等多家知名机构的投资。 成立四年内，Grail累计融资约9亿美元，2017年，以2.78亿美元的价格从Illumina手中赎回了股份。在CCGA（循环游离基因组图谱）计划一期完成后，Grail身价暴涨，成为炙手可热的明星独角兽公司，并于2020年9月申请在纳斯达克交易所上市。担心失去机会的Illumina迅速以80亿美元的价格收购了Grail。 自2021年起，这起并购就受到美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）和欧盟监管机构的起诉，在经历三年的拉锯战之后，最终Illumina决定放弃并购Grail，并担负4.76亿美元的创纪录罚单，仅保留Grail公司14.5%的股权，剩余85.5%的股权将全部无偿分配给Illumina的股东。在此期间，Illumina的市值也从750亿美元，暴跌至150亿美元，跌幅达80%。 Grail的泛癌早筛采用的是ctDNA检测路线，只需要抽取受试者的外周血液，对血液中的游离DNA(cell-free DNA，cfDNA)进行检测，通过分析cfDNA中的ctDNA含量及其特征，即可判断该受试者是否罹患癌症以及癌症的类型。 Grail的核心产品Galleri已经于2021年6月在美国上市，是全球首款泛癌种血检产品，可筛选覆盖50多个癌种的超过10万个甲基化区域的超过100万个CpG位点，作为处方检测用于对癌症高危人群进行早期筛查。 不过，自Galleri上市后，Grail的业绩表现差强人意，2022年收入仅为0.55亿美元，亏损6.26亿美元，于2023年实现9300万美元的总营收，同比增长68%，但同期营业亏损高达15亿美元。今年Q1季度，Grail营收再度同比增长36%达到2700万美元，但营业亏损依旧有2.27亿美元。 Grail持续亏损的原因主要是样本需求量大、随访时间长，导致研发费用高。据Grail预测，Galleri拿证和进医保的时间点大概在2026年下半年，期间仍需要近10亿美元的投入，而公司目前仅有2亿美元的现金储备，在失去Illumina的支持后，能否度过下一个冬天仍存在不确定性。 Grail缘起于全球癌症早筛先驱Exact Sciences的示范，后者以10年市值增长近50倍，而受到资本市场的追捧，在Exact Sciences的成功激励下，众多企业也想通过布局癌症早筛后来居上，Grail也是其中之一。 在Grail申请上市的2020年，来自中国的癌症早筛公司泛生子和燃石医学先后登陆纳斯达克，市值分别高达14.14亿美元和16.8亿美元。如今，泛生子已经完成私有化退市，估值仅为1.26亿美元，燃石医学的市值不足0.8亿美元。 而曾经的行业先驱Exact Sciences的股价也已经跌去近70%，在同行纷纷遇阻的情况下，Grail的发展之路或许并不平坦。 封面图来源：pixabay 版权声明/免责声明 本文为授权转载文章。 本文仅作信息交流之目的，不提供任何商用、医用、投资用建议。 文中图片、视频、字体、音乐等素材或为药时代购买的授权正版作品，或来自微信公共图片库，或取自公司官网/网络，部分素材根据CC0协议使用，版权归拥有者，药时代尽力注明来源。 如有任何问题，请与我们联系。 衷心感谢! 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-- Enhances diversity and expertise in key areas including scientific, commercial, and financial -- TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCRX), the industry leader in its commitment to non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions, today announced the appointments of Marcelo Bigal, MD, PhD, Abraham Ceesay, Michael Yang, and Alethia Young, to its Board of Directors effective immediately. “We are pleased to welcome these four highly seasoned executives to our Board of Directors, whose experience will enhance our board as we advance on our strategic objectives across multiple key areas,” said Dave Stack, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacira BioSciences. Paul Hastings, Lead Independent Director of the Pacira Board, added, “The addition of these new directors underscores our commitment to ensuring strong corporate governance by maintaining a diversity of skills, experience, and perspectives on our board. We look forward to their contributions going forward as we continue to build upon our leadership position in non-opioid pain management.” Each of the new directors adds diversity of experience and background to the Pacira board of directors, while also enhancing racial and gender diversity. Following these director appointments, Pacira will have 12 experienced directors, all with relevant industry experience. About Marcelo Bigal, MD, PhD Dr. Bigal is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ventus Therapeutics and brings extensive experience in neurology to the Pacira Board of Directors. He has published over 330 peer-reviewed papers in the field of neurology, as well as five books. He has been recognized by the American Academy of Neurology with the Harold G. Wolff Award for excellence in research in neurology. Dr. Bigal has over 15 years of pharmaceutical experience spanning research and development; medical affairs; and scientific affairs. Prior to Ventus, he was CMO and Head of Specialty Research and Development at Teva Pharmaceuticals, as well as CMO at Labrys Biologicals, leading the team that developed fremanezumab (AJOVY®) for several forms of migraine, as well as deutetrabenazine (AUSTEDO®) for the treatment of Huntington's disease and tardive dyskinesia, as well as other medicines in neurology, psychiatry, pain, and respiratory diseases approved in the US, Canada, and EU. Prior to his work in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Bigal was a faculty member at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, as well as the Director of Research at New England Center for Headache and Director of Research at Montefiore Headache Center. About Abraham Ceesay Mr. Ceesay brings nearly two decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience to the Pacira Board of Directors. He is currently serving as Chief Executive Officer of Rapport Therapeutics. Before Rapport, he served as President of Cerevel Therapeutics from May 2021 through February 2023, and was previously Chief Executive Officer of Tiburio Therapeutics, where he built a fully integrated company that led to the investigational new drug enablement for a rare neuroendocrine tumor. Prior to joining Tiburio, Mr. Ceesay held positions including Chief Operating Officer at scPharmaceuticals, Head of Commercial at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Vice President of Marketing at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and roles of increasing responsibility at Sanofi, formerly Genzyme. Mr. Ceesay serves as Chairman of the Board for Life Science Cares and on the Board of Trustees at The Museum of Science in Boston. About Michael Yang Mr. Yang has more than 20 years of broad commercialization and senior level leadership experience in biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies, where he launched new platforms, expanded global revenues, and diversified product lines. He most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ViaCyte, which was acquired by Vertex in 2022. Prior to ViaCyte, Mr. Yang was Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Acadia Pharmaceuticals from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure, Acadia transformed the standard of care for patients with Parkinson's disease psychosis. Prior to Acadia, Mr. Yang was President of Janssen Biotech Inc., where was responsible for building Janssen's U.S. immunology business, generating more than $8 billion in annual revenues. About Alethia Young Ms. Young is currently Chief Financial Officer of Bicycle Therapeutics. Previously, Ms. Young was Chief Financial Officer at Graphite Bio, and prior to that, she served as Senior Biotech Analyst and Head of Research at Cantor Fitzgerald, managing the Equity Research Department covering small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap biotechnology companies. Before joining Cantor Fitzgerald in 2018, Ms. Young held senior biotech analyst positions at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. Earlier in her career, she was a research policy analyst and President at Marwood Group, providing healthcare-focused advisory services to institutional investors. She began her career at J.P. Morgan in the investment banking and asset management divisions. About Pacira Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCRX) is committed to providing non-opioid pain management options to as many patients as possible to redefine the role of opioids as rescue therapy only. The company is also developing innovative interventions to address debilitating conditions involving the sympathetic nervous system, such as cardiac electrical storm, chronic pain, and spasticity. Pacira has three commercial-stage non-opioid treatments: EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), a long-acting local analgesic currently approved for infiltration, fascial plane block, and as an interscalene brachial plexus nerve block for postsurgical pain management; ZILRETTA® (triamcinolone acetonide extended-release injectable suspension), an extended-release, intra-articular injection indicated for the management of osteoarthritis knee pain; and ioveraº®, a novel, handheld device for delivering immediate, long-acting, drug-free pain control using precise, controlled doses of cold temperature to a targeted nerve. To learn more about Pacira, including the corporate mission to reduce overreliance on opioids, visit www.pacira.com. Forward-Looking Statements Any statements in this press release about Pacira’s future expectations, plans, trends, outlook, projections and prospects, and other statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “can” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements related to our growth and future operating results and trends, our strategy, plans, objectives, expectations (financial or otherwise) and intentions, future financial results and growth potential, including our plans with respect to the repayment of our indebtedness, anticipated product portfolio, development programs, patent terms, development of products, strategic alliances and intellectual property and other statements that are not historical facts. For this purpose, any statement that is not a statement of historical fact should be considered a forward-looking statement. We cannot assure you that our estimates, assumptions and expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including risks relating to, among others: risks associated with acquisitions, such as the risk that the acquired businesses will not be integrated successfully, that such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected or that the expected benefits of the transaction will not occur; the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective surgeries, our manufacturing and supply chain, global and U.S. economic conditions (including inflation and rising interest rates), and our business, including our revenues, financial condition, cash flow and results of operations; the success of our sales and manufacturing efforts in support of the commercialization of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the rate and degree of market acceptance of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the size and growth of the potential markets for EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera° and our ability to serve those markets; our plans to expand the use of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera° to additional indications and opportunities, and the timing and success of any related clinical trials for EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the commercial success of EXPAREL, ZILRETTA and iovera°; the related timing and success of U.S. Food and Drug Administration supplemental New Drug Applications and premarket notification 510(k)s; the related timing and success of European Medicines Agency Marketing Authorization Applications; our plans to evaluate, develop and pursue additional product candidates utilizing our proprietary multivesicular liposome (“pMVL”) drug delivery technology; the approval of the commercialization of our products in other jurisdictions; clinical trials in support of an existing or potential pMVL-based product; our commercialization and marketing capabilities; our ability to successfully complete an EXPAREL capacity expansion project in San Diego, California; our ability to successfully complete a ZILRETTA capital project in Swindon, England; the outcome of any litigation; the ability to successfully integrate any future acquisitions into our existing business; the recoverability of our deferred tax assets; assumptions associated with contingent consideration payments; and factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings that we periodically make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. Important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements, and as such we anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. Except as required by applicable law, we undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, and readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include the matters discussed and referenced in the “Risk Factors” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings that we periodically make with the SEC.

Rapport Therapeutics launched in March with $100 million to develop precision medicines for neurological diseases. Going from stealth to a $150 million series B in five months may seem fast, but, for Rapport Therapeutics, 10 years of toiling in the labs at Johnson & Johnson beforehand helped the neurological disease biotech accelerate straight from the gate. The Boston- and San Diego-based company has brought on a new group of investors this round, including Cormorant Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Logos Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Sofinnova Investments and Surveyor Capital. Rapport’s existing investors, Third Rock Ventures, Arch Venture Partners and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, also chipped in again. “Ultimately, I think what we see and what this new set of investors sees is just a great set of fundamentals that are behind the company and one that I think positioned the company for a really interesting future,” CEO Abe Ceesay told Fierce Biotech in an interview. Rapport launched in March with Ceesay at the helm—fresh from the president role at Cerevel Therapeutics—and $100 million to develop precision medicines for neurological diseases. The company spun out from J&J, bringing a clinical-stage asset for seizure disorders along with molecular neuroscientist David Bredt, M.D., Ph.D., who now serves as chief scientific officer. Having come from a Big Pharma, Rapport was ready to hit the ground running. Ceesay has long been a biotech executive, heading up Tiburio Therapeutics as CEO before Cerevel. He says he brings the experience in building and operating a biotech from the ground up through the various stages of development and then growth. But why jump from Cerevel, a company similarly working in neurological disorders, which itself came out of a Big Pharma—in this case Pfizer? “What attracted me most to Rapport was the ability to really bring to life the concept of precision neuroscience,” Ceesay said. He believes Rapport is closer to cracking the code on targeting the right regions of the brain to change how patients adhere to the therapy and how physicians treat neurological diseases. J&J has stepped back into a more passive role, providing funding through its investment arm. But that Big Pharma kick-start certainly helped at a time when the majority of biotechs are struggling to make their next fundraising rounds. “The biotech market has been a challenging one as of late. I do believe that you are seeing financings happening across the sector and ultimately I think when you really peel everything back and really look at what's under these financing, it comes down to companies that have extremely strong fundamentals,” Ceesay said. Rapport is now nicely capitalized, but, of course, in biotech you never stop thinking about your next fundraising, Ceesay admits. Still, he’s happy with the new group of investors that were brought on with the series B and expects them to stick around for the next two or three rounds. The funds will help grow Rapport’s team from around 20 people into the low 30s or even 40s by the end of the year. The company has headquarters in both Boston and San Diego, splitting between the two major U.S. biotech hubs. Rapport also has a focus on neuroscience going for it, while breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease by Biogen and Eisai and Eli Lilly help reinvigorate investment in the field. Karuna Therapeutics is nearing an FDA submission for a new schizophrenia med, and Biogen also recently snagged an approval for a Sage Therapeutics-partnered postpartum depression therapy. Ceesay sees a lot of opportunity in lesser publicized psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder, bipolar depression or post-traumatic stress disorder where a significant unmet need remains. “I do believe that we are kind of in that next frontier for neuroscience. Now, what do we need to do as an industry differently? Or how do we approach this sector? I think it's going to really depend on each individual company and what they bring to bear,” Ceesay said. “For us, what we believe we're bringing to bear is true precision neuroscience.”