|
|
|
|
|
Biotech Startup Seeks Cancer Drugs With More Punch
|
|
By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
|
|
|
|
|
Good day. Venture capitalists see an opportunity to make an established class of cancer drugs even better.
Antibody-drug conjugates link chemotherapy drug molecules to antibodies. The antibodies home in on cancers, concentrating the drug in tumors. While the idea for this type of drug is decades old, the field has been gaining momentum with the recent approvals of several new antibody-drug conjugates.
Many antibody-drug conjugates have shown they are capable of having greater efficacy in blood cancers and solid tumors by demonstrating improvements over antibodies themselves, said Sean Harper, a founding managing director of venture firm Westlake Village BioPartners.
Venture firms have been financing startups seeking to make antibody-drug conjugates more effective. They include Dantari Inc., a Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company that formed in 2019 and has raised a $47 million Series A financing led by Westlake Village.
Dantari, advancing research from the California Institute of Technology, wants antibody-drug conjugates to pack more punch. Because of the structure of antibodies, researchers can attach only eight drug molecules to them, Chief Executive Richard Markus said.
Dantari doesn’t link drug molecules to antibodies. Instead, it uses a polymer that can hold 60 drug molecules, Dr. Markus said. This polymer attaches to the antibody.
“In cancer, more is generally better as long as you can do it safely,” Dr. Markus said.
Dantari’s lead drug is in clinical trials in certain metastatic breast cancer patients, known as HER2-negative.
Dantari faces competition from several antibody-drug conjugate companies, including startups such as Mythic Therapeutics Inc., which disclosed a $103 million Series B round in December 2021, raised from Viking Global Investors, Foresite Capital and others.
And now on to the news...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Apogee Therapeutics CEO Michael Henderson. PHOTO: WILLIAM MACKIE
|
|
|
|
Biotech startup collects $169 million. Biotechnology startup Apogee Therapeutics LLC has secured $169 million in venture capital to develop medications designed to improve the treatment of common inflammatory and immunological diseases. Inflammatory diseases affect millions of people. One type, inflammatory bowel disease, for example, affects some three million U.S. adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-
San Francisco-based Apogee hasn’t disclosed publicly which illnesses its potential antibody drugs could treat yet, but said this financing would enable it to move its first drug into clinical trials in 2023.
-
Apogee raised a $20 million Series A round of funding in March and closed a $149 million Series B round in November. Deep Track Capital and RTW Investments led the Series B financing.
|
|
|
$150 Million
|
The amount of an underwritten offering of common stock from publicly traded cancer drugmaker Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc.
|
|
|
|
Theranos Ex-Operating Chief Sentenced to Nearly 13 Years in Prison
|
|
Theranos Inc.’s former No. 2 executive, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for his involvement in an elaborate fraud scheme at the blood-testing company, marking the capstone of a yearslong saga that became synonymous with the worst of Silicon Valley culture, The Wall Street Journal's Heather Somerville and Christopher Weaver report.
|
|
EU Tells Illumina How to Unwind Deal for Cancer-Test Developer Grail
|
|
The European Union on Monday set out the details of a planned order requiring Illumina Inc. to unwind its $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer-test developer Grail Inc., the Journal’s Kim Mackrael and Peter Loftus report. The European Commission, the bloc’s competition watchdog, said in a so-called statement of objections that it intends to require Illumina to swiftly return Grail to the same level of independence the company had before the acquisition. Grail must also be as competitive after the divestment as it was before the deal closed, the commission said.
|
|
Gut Bacteria Are Linked to Depression
|
|
New research has bolstered a once-gutsy idea: Bugs in the digestive system may play a role in depression, the Journal’s Dominique Mosbergen reports. Two studies published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found a link between several types of bacteria in the gut and depressive symptoms. Trillions of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and yeast live in the digestive tract. Research exploring whether they might affect an array of diseases has increased in recent years.
|
|
|
Cavalry Ventures Launches New Fund for European Startups
|
|
Early-stage European startups that lament the difficulty of raising funds have a new investor to pitch, Eric Sylvers reports for WSJ Pro. Berlin-based Cavalry Ventures launched a new fund that has raised a little more than $100 million, a figure the firm is looking to boost to $160 million in the next six months, according to Rouven Dresselhaus, one of three Cavalry managing partners. Cavalry plans to continue its methodical approach that has led to an average of fewer than a dozen investments a year for the firm’s previous two funds.
|
|
|
|
|
People
Mammoth Biosciences Inc., a biotechnology company based in Brisbane, Calif., said it has named Phil Tinmouth as its chief business officer and Siang Chin as its general counsel. Mr. Tinmouth joined Mammoth from biotech company Pardes Biosciences, where he led business development and strategic initiatives as chief business and strategy officer. Ms. Chin previously was general counsel of DNA microarray company Affymetrix Inc. and also was vice president and assistant general counsel for Intuitive Surgical Inc., a surgical robotics company.
Medikine Inc., a biotechnology startup that develops therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases, said entrepreneur Roland Buelow has joined its board. Dr. Buelow is the former founder and chief executive of Teneobio, a biotech company that developed a new class of biologics called human heavy-chain antibodies. He was also previously founder and CEO of biotech company Open Monoclonal Technology Inc., which Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. acquired.
Deals
Drugmaker AbbVie said it has formed a partnership with venture-backed biotech startup HotSpot Therapeutics Inc., which develops small-molecule therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The deal includes a collaboration and option to license agreement for HotSpot’s discovery-stage IRF5 drug program for treating autoimmune diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, HotSpot will receive an upfront cash payment of $40 million and may be eligible to receive up to $295 million in option fees and research and development milestones, with potential for further commercial milestones as well as tiered royalties on global net sales.
|
|
|
|
Entact Bio, a biotechnology company developing medicines that enhance the function of key proteins, said it has raised $81 million in Series A financing. The round was co-led by Qiming Venture Partners USA and venBio Partners, with participation by new investors Abingworth, Brandon Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capital, Surveyor Capital and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and founding investors 4BIO Capital and Arkin Bio Ventures.
Rejoni, a medical-technology company designing and developing hydrogels to improve the standard of care in women’s health, said it has closed a $25 million Series B financing. The round was led by Catalyst Health Ventures, with support from Ascension Health Ventures, Delos Capital, Sparta Group, Amed Ventures and Iyengar Capital Partners.
|
|
|
|
|
Wegovy is among a new class of drugs regulators have approved to lower the weight of people who are obese, a goal long sought by doctors and patients. PHOTO: NOVO NORDISK
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
Everyone is sick right now (Wired)
-
How tech has finally caught up with transcription factors (Life Sci VC)
-
In study, cell therapy exceeds expectations in melanoma patients (STAT)
-
Biotech veteran Jeff Jonas on leaving Sage, guiding new biotechs and his ‘personal odyssey’ (Biopharma Dive)
|
|
|
|
|
|