Newco Elkedonia SAS has raised €11 million (US$12.7 million) in a seed round, which will fund it to take a potentially first-in-class ELK-1 inhibitor into the clinic in the treatment of refractory depression. ELK-1 plays a pivotal role in neuroplasticity and in reward circuits in the brain, which when disrupted can lead to depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Turning the human body into a biofactory of precision protein therapeutics is the focus of newly launched Signify Bio, which emerged with an oversubscribed $15 million initial financing to advance three platforms with broad potential across therapeutic areas.

Proteinqure Inc. has closed an $11 million series A financing round to support the initiation of the company’s first clinical trial for PQ-203, a first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The funds will also be used to advance additional pipeline programs in neurology and nephrology.

Newco Avidicure NV arrived on the scene with a hefty $50 million in seed funding to advance novel antibody formats the company says will surpass the best qualities of first-generation antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell engagers and antibody-drug conjugates.

Nuevocor Pte. Ltd. has closed a $45 million series B, enabling it to move lead gene therapy NVC-001 into the clinic in the treatment of an inherited form of cardiomyopathy.

Armatus Bio Inc.’s development of ARM-201, an AAV-delivered microRNA therapy for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), has been boosted by a $3 million investment by Solve FSHD.

Synthetic Design Lab Inc., which emerged from stealth with a $20 million seed round and a platform technology aimed at advancing the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) space, began with its founders identifying a single clear goal: how to deliver more payload to a target cancer cell.

Avidicure BV has launched with a $50 million seed financing round and a focus on developing dual agonistic, multifunctional and avidity engineered antibodies, or AVC-Boosters, to deliver targeted and potent cancer monotherapy.

Grove Biopharma Inc., a spinout from Northwestern University targeting intracellular protein-protein interactions with a novel synthetic biology-based approach, has closed a $30 million series A financing. Proceeds will be used to further advance Grove Biopharma’s Bionic Biologics platform and drive its lead oncology programs toward the clinic.