Good day. Corporate and venture-capital investors have pumped $85 million into Notch Therapeutics Inc., a Canadian startup seeking to push cancer-cellular therapy in a new direction.

New cell therapies for cancer, called CAR-T, use a patient’s own immune cells to treat the disease. Novartis AG secured U.S. regulatory approval for the first CAR-T treatment in 2017.

But several biotechnology companies are exploring new, off-the-shelf cell therapies that wouldn’t require cells to be harvested from patients, which could enable them to be treated sooner.

They include Allogene Therapeutics Inc., which went public in 2018 after raising venture capital. Allogene treatments are based on immune cells taken from healthy donors.

But there is a limited number of immune cells that can be harvested from donors, according to Notch Chief Executive David Main.

Notch is developing cell therapies derived from stem cells, which could yield trillions of immune cells that are readily available to treat cancer patients, according to Mr. Main. The process involves reprogramming adult cells into stem cells that can differentiate into immune cells.   

Allogene, which earlier formed a partnership with Notch to develop cancer treatments, also participated in this Series A financing for Notch. Notch expects to start its first clinical trials in about two years, Mr. Main said. 

And now on to the news...

Covid-19 blood purification. The U.S. Defense Department has agreed to fund a clinical trial of devices from two venture-backed companies that could treat critically ill Covid-19 patients by purifying their blood. 

• ExThera Medical Corp. and BOA Biomedical Inc. plan to test their dialysis-like treatments designed to purify the blood of pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, and also of substances that could trigger a potentially fatal inflammatory cascade in Covid-19 patients.
   
• ExThera’s treatment secured regulatory approval in Europe in 2019 and an emergency-use authorization for Covid-19 in the U.S. last year.
   
• Other types of blood-purification technologies, designed to remove inflammation-promoting proteins known as cytokines, also have received emergency authorization for Covid-19. 

SoftBank Group Corp. is putting $900 million into red-hot gene-sequencing company Pacific Biosciences of California Inc., as the Japanese technology conglomerate ramps up a new public-equity investing effort, WSJ reports.

• PacBio, as it is known, produces next-generation DNA-sequencing systems used to research diseases and develop treatments. The investment, in the form of convertible debt, is designed to help accelerate the commercialization of the company’s technology.
   
• It comes on top of a roughly 6% stake in PacBio that SoftBank had already accumulated and will give the Japanese investor significant sway over the Menlo Park, Calif., company.
   
• PacBio has a market value of $7.4 billion after a dramatic jump in its shares in recent months that was sparked in part by a new joint venture with Invitae Corp., a medical-genetics company.  

Fitness-and-nutrition business Beachbody Co. Group LLC plans to merge with a blank-check company affiliated with former TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer in a deal that values the combined company at nearly $3 billion, WSJ Pro reports. 

• Known for its streaming fitness content and nutritional meal plans, the Beachbody Company will combine with Forest Road Acquisition Corp. and trade on the New York Stock Exchange once the deal closes, according to the executives involved in the deal.
   
• As part of the deal, Myx Fitness LLC, an at-home connected cycling provider, will merge into the blank-check company and become part of The Beachbody Company.

SPACs

Genetic testing and health-data analytics company Sema4 plans to go public through a combination with special purpose acquisition company CM Life Sciences Inc. The companies said the transaction gives Sema4 an enterprise value of roughly $2 billion and will provide up to $793 million in cash proceeds, including $443 million held by CM Life and $350 million from a private placement. Current Sema4 shareholders will receive up to $343 million of the proceeds, with the company using the remainder to accelerate growth. In July, Stamford, Conn.-based Sema4 raised a $121 million Series C round at a post-money valuation of more than $1 billion from BlackRock, Deerfield Management, Moore Strategic Ventures, Blackstone, Section 32, Oak HC/FT, Decheng and Connecticut Innovations.

People

Boston-based .406 Ventures added Kathryn Taylor Reddy as vice president to focus on digital health investments. She was previously a vice president at BPEA.

Diabetes and chronic disease management provider Cecelia Health named Mark Clermont as chief executive, succeeding David Weingard. Mr. Clermont joins the company from Lumeon. New York-based Cecelia Health raised a $13 million Series B round in August from investors including Rittenhouse Ventures, Endo Investors, Boston Millennia Partners, SustainVC and G100 Capital.

Monte Rosa Therapeutics, which is developing precision medicines that degrade disease-causing proteins, appointed Owen Wallace as chief scientific officer. He previously held the same position at Fulcrum Therapeutics. Boston-based Monte Rosa in September raised a $96 million Series B round from investors including Aisling Capital, Versant Ventures, New Enterprise Associates and GV.

Cancer drug developer Palleon Pharmaceuticals appointed Nikola Trbovic, executive director and partner at Pfizer Ventures, to the company’s board. Waltham, Mass.-based Palleon is backed by investors including AbbVie Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, SR One, Takeda Ventures and Vertex Ventures HC.

Exits

Clora Inc. will bolster its marketplace of life science industry professionals with the purchase of Legit.ai in a cash and stock deal. Investors including Spark Capital, Social Capital, Ludlow Ventures, Notation Capital, iSeed Ventures, v1 VC and KohFounders have backed Clora. Legit.ai had secured funding from Eniac Ventures, Elementum VC and Cantos Ventures.

Microbial sciences company Seed Health Inc. acquired Auggi, whose technology tracks and analyzes digestive health, for an undisclosed sum. Seed Health is listed in the portfolios of Bold Capital Partners, Box Group, Collaborative Fund, Grant Park Ventures, MaC Venture Capital and Greycroft.

WellAir, a provider of air purification devices, sensors and monitoring software, acquired UV Innovators, a developer of medical-grade handheld UVC disinfection technology. Terms weren’t disclosed. Polaris Partners and F-Prime Capital include Stamford, Conn.-based WellAir in their portfolios.

Day One Biopharmaceuticals Inc., a South San Francisco, Calif.-based startup developing cancer treatments for children and adults, scored $130 million in Series B funding led by RA Capital Management. Additional new investors Boxer Capital, BVF Partners, Franklin Templeton, Janus Henderson Investors, Perceptive Advisors, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. and Viking Global Investors also contributed to the round, along with existing backers Canaan, Access Biotechnology and Atlas Venture.

Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc., a Baltimore developer of genomics-based tests designed to optimize cancer treatment, closed a $103 million Series C round. Cowen Healthcare Investments led the investment, which included participation from Northpond Ventures, Vensana Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Kern Capital, Sands Capital, PFM Health Sciences, Windham Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Innovatus Capital Partners, Catalio Capital Management and others. Kevin Raidy of Cowen Healthcare Investments and Lily Li of Northpond joined the company’s board.

Hyperfine Research, provider of a portable MR imaging system, completed a $90 million Series D round from investors including GV, Nextrans, Axiom Associates, Huami, Colle Capital, LSS and Altium Capital. The company has offices in Guilford, Conn. and New York.

RapidSOS, a New York-based developer of technology that links connected devices to first responders, picked up $85 million in Series C funding led by Insight Partners.

Neurophth Biotechnology Ltd., a Chinese startup developing gene therapies for the treatment of ocular diseases, closed a ¥400 million ($61.9 million) Series B round co-led by Guofang Capital and InnoVision Capital. New investors including funds and accounts managed by Oriza Holdings, Harvest Capital and Grand Mount Capital also participated in the funding, along with existing backers Sequoia Capital China and Northern Light Venture Capital.

Labster, a Copenhagen-based producer of virtual laboratory simulations, nabbed $60 million in Series C financing. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, with participation from GGV Capital, Owl Ventures, Balderton Capital, Northzone, Swisscom Ventures and EduCapital.

Drug Farm, a China-based startup whose lead drug candidate seeks to treat hepatitis B virus infection and other liver diseases, collected $56 million in funding. Investors in the company include BioVeda China Fund, WuXi AppTec’s corporate venture fund, South China Venture Capital, Detong Capital and Zhejiang United Investment Group.

HemoShear Therapeutics Inc., a Charlottesville, Va.-based startup whose lead compound for the treatment of methylmalonic acidemia and propionic acidemia is about to undergo a Phase II study, secured $40 million in Series A financing. Suvretta Capital led the round, and was joined by Janus Henderson Investors, Adage Capital Management and others. David Friedman, managing director at Suvretta Capital; and John Tilton, chief commercial officer at Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co., will join the board.

Seraxis Inc., a Germantown, Md.-based startup working on a cure for Type 1 diabetes, nabbed a $40 million Series C round. Eli Lilly & Co. led the investment, which saw participation from Frazier Healthcare Partners, Polaris Ventures, JDRF T1D Fund and others.

neoX Biotech, a Chinese drug research and development startup, raised $30 million in Series A financing. Sky9 Capital and 5Y Capital co-led the round, which included additional support from BAI Capital, Vertex Ventures, Vision Plus Capital and Sequoia Capital China.

PatientsLikeMe, a Cambridge, Mass.-based health management and support community provider, snagged a $26 million investment. Alta Partners, Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures, Optum Ventures and PBM Capital led the round, which also included participation from Symphony Ventures.

Koa Health, a Dutch digital mental health-care provider, added $19.5 million in Series A funding to close the round at $36 million. Investors in the round included Wellington Partners Life Sciences, Ancora Finance Group, MTIP, Akilia Partners, Creas Impacto, Sabadell Asabys and Mundi Ventures. David Germonpré, partner at MTIP, joins the board.

• Possible early Covid-19 cases in China emerge during WHO mission  
   
• Which Americans are least willing to get a Covid-19 vaccine 
   
• Biden Administration asks Supreme Court to reject challenge to Affordable Care Act

• AstraZeneca looks to rebound from production delays for its Covid-19 vaccine (Endpoints News)
   
• Pandemic-fueled alcohol abuse creates wave of hospitalizations for liver disease (Kaiser Health News)
   
• Biotech entrepreneur George Church launches gene-therapy startup (Fierce Biotech)
   
• Covid-19 cases are falling in the U.S. It could be a calm before a variant-driven storm (STAT News)

This newsletter was compiled by Brian Gormley and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.

Follow us on Twitter: @wsjvc, @ychernova, @BrianPGormley, @marcvarta.