A US and Dutch biotech
closed
its $40 million Series A to bankroll more studies of its oral anti-inflammatory drug.
Olatec Therapeutics said the financing will fund a late-stage clinical trial of its drug, dapansutrile, an NLRP3 inhibitor. Novartis, Roche and Novo Nordisk have all caught wind of the NLRP3 space, with the latter joining in via a
deal with Ventus Therapeutics
in NASH and other cardio metabolic diseases.
Sanders Morris Harris, Advection Growth Capital and others participated in what the biotech is calling an “A-9 Round.”
A tablet formulation of the drug is being tested
in a Phase II/III
for patients with acute gout flare. The company’s website also lists a Phase II trial testing the safety and efficacy of dapansutrile capsules
for treating moderate Covid-19 symptoms
and early cytokine release syndrome. —
Kyle LaHucik
Boulder, CO biotech Enliven Therapeutics has closed the deal to take Imara’s place on the Nasdaq, where it will trade under the ticker
$ELVN
. In conjunction with the close, Enliven has raised $165 million in a private placement; it announced Friday morning.
The raise was led by Fairmount and Venrock Healthcare, followed by Fidelity, RA Capital, Frazier Life Sciences, and Commodore Capital, alongside Enliven’s existing investors. Enliven said its cash runway now goes out to early 2026.
Enliven was seeded by OrbiMed and 5AM Ventures and has been working on precision cancer therapies targeting BCR-ABL gene fusion and HER2. Imara was working on a drug for blood disorders, but that candidate failed two clinical studies. Imara then sold its lead candidate to heart disease biotech Cardurion. —
Lei Lei Wu
F-star Therapeutics’ sale to China’s Sino Biopharm is getting delayed again as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) reviews the buyout.
The latest extension in a long string of delays pushes the deal deadline to March 3, 2023.
In F-star’s SEC filing outlining the extension, the biotech wrote:
—
Lei Lei Wu
