Plus, news about Spyre, Tongrui Biotech, ATB Therapeutics, Freya Biosciences, Intas and Xbrane:
Bayer, Cytokinetics ink deal for heart drug in Japan:
The German drugmaker
is paying
€50 million upfront, with an additional €90 million in milestones available through launch and up to €490 million in commercial milestones. Cytokinetics is developing aficamten for obstructive and non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
— Jaimy Lee
Heather Turner’s new gigs:
In addition to
being named
chair of Avalyn Pharma, she’s been tapped as CEO of LB Pharmaceuticals and a board
director
at Terns Pharmaceuticals. Back in June,
Endpoints News
reported
that LB, a New York-based schizophrenia biotech, was considering an IPO after raising a $75 million Series C. Turner has experience with IPOs: She was CEO at Carmot Therapeutics when it announced plans to go public (although Roche ended up buying it) and legal chief at Lyell Immunopharma when it had its IPO in 2021.
— Kyle LaHucik
Spyre’s $200M offering:
The Waltham, MA-based biotech is
selling
shares after
releasing
interim Phase 1 data in healthy volunteers for its inflammatory bowel disease drug last week. The company has done multiple financings since going public via a reverse merger last year, including inking $180 million in private placements in December and March.
— Kyle LaHucik
Tongrui raises more than $100M:
The Chinese biotech, which is focused on radiopharmaceuticals,
said
the Series A was led by Shenzhen Capital Group and Tailong Investment. Other investors include Hillhouse Ventures and 3SBio. Tongrui was founded three years ago.
— Jaimy Lee
Belgian biotech raises €54M:
ATB Therapeutics snagged the
Series A
from MRL Ventures Fund (Merck’s venture arm), EQT Life Sciences, V-Bio Ventures and others. The money is set to go toward biologics that entail “cell-killing mechanisms.”
— Kyle LaHucik
Freya gets $10.4M from the Gates Foundation:
The women’s health company, which is developing microbial immunotherapies for bacterial vaginosis and preventing pre-term birth,
has now raised
about $50 million in its Series A. It also received $1.4 million from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.
— Jaimy Lee
Intas gets rights to Opdivo biosimilar candidate:
Intas
is paying
€10 million upfront, with an additional €3 million in development milestones on the table. Xbrane is working on a biosimilar of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, or nivolumab. Opdivo’s patent in the US is set to expire in four years.
— Jaimy Lee