While everyone will be glad to see 2020 in their rearview mirror, the biopharmaceutical sector can count its blessings, as it emerges from a period where it has surprisingly received record public and private financings and enjoyed strong investor support. This is in sharp contrast to most of the global economy, which has been decimated by the ongoing pandemic.
Flowonix Medical Inc. and Swk Holdings Corp. closed a $33 million financing that included $10 million in debt facility from Swk in addition to $23 million in a series B round led by returning investor Farallon Capital Management with support from several new investors. The financing will replace approximately $7.5 million in prior venture debt from Hercules Capital. It will also fund development of new products, entry into new disease markets, production expansion, and partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.
Following a record-shattering year, terms were set for the first two biotech IPOs of 2021 in deals that could generate up to $300 million. Cullinan Oncology LLC, of Cambridge, Mass., set terms Jan. 4 for raising about $150 million by pricing 8.3 million shares in the $17 to $19 range. Gracell Biotechnology Ltd., of Shanghai, also set the terms for its U.S. IPO Jan. 4. The CAR T-cell developer looks to raise $150 million by offering 8.8 million American depositary shares in a range of $16 to $18 each.
Biopharmas in Asia-Pacific raising money in public or private financings, including: Arch Biopartners, Epsilon Molecular Engineering, Foresee, Gracell, Transcenta.