HONG KONG – Ultrasight Ltd. has closed a $13 million series B funding round, and is a step closer to entering the clinic in the U.S. with its cardiac ultrasound software. With the funds in hand, Rehovot, Israel-based Ultrasight aims to start clinical trials in the U.S. for its artificial intelligence (AI)-guided software for cardiac ultrasound.
Flare Therapeutics Inc. emerged from stealth mode with $82 million in series A financing and an ambitious agenda to systematically drug transcription factors associated with cancer and other neurological, genetic and immunological conditions.
Venture capitalists in China are adopting different models to quickly create value from biopharma companies and are able to exit much faster than their U.S counterparts, new data suggest.
Caris Life Sciences Inc. raised $830 million in a capital growth round led by Sixth Street Partners, the latest show of private investors’ zeal for backing precision medicine ventures. The infusion, which includes $235 million in equity financing, will be used for continued commercial expansion and to advance its liquid biopsy platform. T.R. Price Associates Inc., Silver Lake, Fidelity Management & Research Co. LLC were significant contributors in the round.
Med-tech firms raising money in public or private financings, including: Axonics, Bluestar Genomics, Dr First, Juno Diagnostics, Mindera, Treatment.com International.
Business development among biopharmaceutical companies working on therapeutics for cancer indications has been brisk this year, with 32% of the 654 deals recorded to date by BioWorld involving cancer indications. However public companies in the area haven’t gained much investor enthusiasm, with the BioWorld Cancer index dropping over 18% year-to-date, with 6% of the loss in valuation taking place this month.
Biopharma startups seeking a mix of financial, strategic and operational support gained a new option May 12 with the announcement of Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II from Perceptive Advisors LLC. The fund, expected to lead series A financings in the range of $20 million to $40 million closed with $515 million in capital commitments. It's led by portfolio manager and CEO Chris Garabedian, who also serves as chairman and CEO of Xontogeny LLC, a Boston-based accelerator.