PARIS – Orixha SAS raised $2.25 million to bolster development of its Vent2cool medical device, pulmonary ventilation technology used in critical care settings. Investment company Erganeo SAS, the Angels Santé business angels group and three French industrial partners – Infiplast SAS, OEM Development SAS and Activation SAS – all participated in the round.
LONDON – Lifelight Ltd. is preparing for a new funding round in the first quarter of 2022 after making significant headway with its contactless technology for monitoring vital signs, as push came to shove during the pandemic and remote patient monitoring became a necessity.
Canbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised HK$604 million ($77.4 million) with a listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, selling about 56.3 million shares (1228.HK) at HK$12.18 per share. The shares fell to HK$8.90 at the close of trading Dec. 10. Almost half the funds will support advancement of Canbridge’s lead candidate, CAN-008, a glycosylated CD95-Fc fusion protein in phase II testing for glioblastoma, while another quarter will support other major pipeline programs.
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.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is continuing a streak of investments in the med-tech space, signing a €20 million (US$22 million) loan agreement with Midiagnostics NV, to scale-up a new rapid COVID-19 PCR test. Leuven, Belgium-based Midiagnostics is developing a rapid PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, which can achieve an accuracy speed 20 times faster than classic PCR machines. A nasopharyngeal swab sample is transferred on a PCR testcard, from which the results are read by a compact reader. Pilot programs for the test began at Brussels Airport this month, with a market launch pegged for Spring 2022.
As Omicron spreads throughout Europe there’s a pressing need for new therapies that could reduce the burden on hospitals by preventing COVID-19 symptoms from escalating to a critical point. Apogenix GmbH, of Heidelberg, Germany, is pushing a potential new therapy into phase III that could be added to the armamentarium against COVID-19 with €20.7 million (US$23.4 million) government funding.