American depositary shares in CAR T-focused Legend Biotech Corp. (NASDAQ:LEGN), offered in a red hot IPO at $23 each, took off Friday, rising 60.9% to close at $37 per share. Other offerings June 5, a buoyant day for U.S. markets after a surprising drop in unemployment, raised $154 million for cellular trafficking specialist Applied Molecular Transport Inc. and $90 million for Calliditas Therapeutics AB, the developer of an oral formulation of the corticosteroid budesonide.
BEIJING – Three-year-old Asia-focused startup Everest Medicines Ltd. closed one of the biggest financing rounds in China’s health care market this year, adding $310 million to its war chest. The firm is aiming to advance its late-stage assets in-licensed from global partners to the China market soon.
PARIS – Uromems SAS, of Grenoble, France, reported the completion of a series B round of $17.5 million to advance development of its implantable mechatronic device for treating stress urinary incontinence.
Toronto-based Titan Medical Inc. has inked a development and license agreement with Medtronic plc, of Dublin, to advance the development of single-port robotic-assisted surgical tools. A separate agreement gives Medtronic licensing rights to certain Titan intellectual property. The arrangement aligns with Medtronic’s goal of building its robotic-assisted surgery business and gives Titan’s financials a needed shot in the arm.
Athira Pharma Inc. closed on an $85 million series B financing designed to advance its small molecule, NDX-1017, into a phase II/III trial for treating Alzheimer’s disease later this year. The company is using positive data generated last year from its phase Ia/b trial in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease as a springboard to the clinic.
TORONTO – Toronto-based Epineuron Technologies Inc. reported the completion of a financing round to develop and clinically validate neuroregenerative technology intended for the recovery of patients suffering from peripheral nerve injuries. Designated a breakthrough device by the U.S. FDA, the “nerve bandage” uses brief bioelectronic stimulation of injured nerves to “upregulate” associated genes that accelerate nerve regeneration.
LONDON – With results of its first phase I trial imminent, inflammasome specialist Nodthera Ltd. has raised $55 million in a series B round, providing funding for phase II proof-of-concept studies and to advance a second, brain-penetrant, compound to the clinic.