DUBLIN – Galecto Biotech Inc. raised $64 million in a series D funding round, which will enable the company to complete a phase IIb trial of its lead drug candidate, the inhaled galectin-3 inhibitor GB-0139, in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and to move two other programs into phase II studies, in liver fibrosis and myelofibrosis, before year-end.
Immune Regulation Ltd., a U.S.-U.K. venture advancing peptide-based therapies for rheumatoid arthritis and allergic diseases, has closed a £40.6 million (US$53.4 million) series B financing that will support its preparation for multiple phase II studies next year, as well as an evaluation of one candidate in COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome. Morningside Ventures led the round, along with existing shareholders, including London-based 24Haymarket.
While its mRNA COVID-19 vaccination effort gets the most attention these days, Moderna Inc. is also moving in other directions as the company will lead mRNA discovery programs drawn from its early stage pipeline in new collaborations with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Italy’s Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA. These two deals highlight the “huge opportunity for mRNA beyond SARS-CoV-2 and vaccines,” Piper Sandler analysts wrote Sept. 16.