With a few weeks left in the year, the biopharma industry has raised a total of $116.18 billion through 1,506 transactions, both of which are second only to 2020.
Avistone Biotechnology Co. Ltd. raised more than $200 million to support its oncology drug development and the acquisition Pearl Biotechnology Co. Ltd. with the aim of creating a “fully-integrated” targeted oncology platform. Vivo Capital LLC led the financing, with participation from Bain Capital LP. and Primavera Capital Group.
Aculys Pharma Inc. closed its $60 million series A financing round, with the funds to be used to develop pitolisant (Wakix), a selective histamine H3 receptor antagonist/inverse agonist, in Japan.
Shouti Inc. raised $100 million in a series B round led by BVF Partners LP to advance its discovery platform for designing oral medicines and to speed up the development of its candidates. The Shanghai and California-based company has secured a total of $158 million in funding so far.
For the first time this year, the amount of money raised by the biopharma industry has dropped below the amount collected during the same timeframe last year, even though the number of transactions has climbed by nearly 10%.
Although 2020 is the highest money-making year on record for the biopharma industry, a direct comparison of the first five months indicates that the amount raised so far in 2021 is 22% ahead of last year, while the number of financings climbed 26%.
Engine Biosciences Pte. Ltd., a Singapore and Silicon Valley-based company using machine learning, combinatorial genetics and other technologies to hasten the discovery of gene interactions and biological networks underlying disease, has raised $43 million in series A financing. Polaris Partners led the round, which the company said would help it expand its portfolio of precision oncology therapeutics, prepare for its first clinical programs, and scale its technology platform.
HONG KONG – Beijing Stonewise Technology Co. Ltd., a med-tech firm that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in the discovery of small molecule drugs, closed series B and B+ financing rounds that added $100 million to its pocket. The company intends to use the proceeds to upgrade its AI-enabled drug discovery platform.
HONG KONG – Bispecific antibody startup Epimab Biotherapeutics Inc. has completed a $120 million series C financing, bringing it closer to a potential IPO next year. The Shanghai-based company said the new funds would help it move EMB-01 into phase II testing this year.
While historical data suggest venture capital rounds will eventually dip below the peak years, biopharma financings completed in recent months indicate the dollars are continuing to climb in 2021. A maturing industry, the high potential of cell and gene therapy products, the advancing technologies of artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as an eager financial community, are all responsible for the ever-increasing availability of private money.
