ISA Pharmaceuticals BV has closed a €26 million (US$30.76 million) funding round to advance its cancer immunotherapy product, ISA-101b, in the clinic, as the company aims to tackle the low response rates that hold back this therapeutic approach.
Prime Medicine Inc. (PM) likely has “a lock on prime editing technology for therapeutic uses,” CEO Keith Gottesdiener told BioWorld, though research labs are continuing to refine the approach. Cambridge, Mass.-based PM has $315 million in the bank that will help advance the platform, which behaves like a DNA word processor to search and replace disease-causing genetic sequences at their exact location in the genome.
DUBLIN – Inotrem SA has received €45 million (US$53 million) in public funding commitments to move its Trem-1 inhibitor, nangibotide, into a phase II/III trial in COVID-19 patients who are critically ill and on ventilation.
Xilis Inc. closed $70 million in series A financing on July 8 to reduce drug development costs leveraging its technology, with the goal of advancing precision medicine through targeted drug discovery and development. The financing was led by Mubadala Capital with participation from new investors that include GV, formerly Google Ventures, and others.
Osso VR has raised $27 million in a series B financing led by GSR Ventures. The funds will be used to accelerate expansion of its library and virtual reality (VR)-powered surgical training and assessment platform.
LONDON – Another Novo Seeds start-up has graduated, with Muna Therapeutics ApS closing a $73 million series A to take forward small-molecule treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
While second quarter financings pale in comparison to the same timeframe last year, a stellar first quarter more than makes up for the gap, and 2021 has officially raised nearly 10% more than the first half of biopharma’s – and perhaps the world’s – most unforgettable year.