Private Company Edition: VC mega-rounds boosted the Q1 2021 total. Also, new funds from Versant, The Column Group and Rapha Capital keep cash flowing into biopharma; up to $525m is invested in Exscientia; and Arch Oncology and Boundless Bio raised $105m each, while Forge brought in $120m.
The flow of venture capital into biopharmaceutical companies has been astonishing – breaking the prior record by a wide margin in 2020 – and, so far, 2021 looks like it is on track to leave a big gap between last year’s and this year’s fundraising total.
Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) reported in their quarterly Venture Monitor report that 298 biotechnology and pharmaceutical...
Merck’s immuno-oncology blockbuster was the world’s best-selling drugs by revenues for the second year in a row, with an almost $12bn lead over its closest rival, Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 drug Ozempic.
Private Company Edition: ARCH raised more than $3bn for its eighth fund, Frazier added $630m to its public fund that also can back crossover rounds, DCVC’s third biotech fund totaled $400m and Asabys raised €180m ($200m) for its second fund. Also, Aktis closed a $175m series B round.
BridgeBio spun out oncology assets in May to focus on rare diseases and now it has sliced off a few rare disease candidates for GondolaBio. Also, Avidity and Kymera closed follow-on offerings that grossed $345.1m and $225m, respectively, and Vandria extended its series A round to $30.7m.
Restructuring Edition: Lykos recruited a J&J veteran to help its slimmed-down staff resubmit its MDMA-based PTSD therapy. Also, Lexicon cut its field force by 50%, or 75 jobs; Viracta cut its solid tumor program and 23% of its workforce; and Boundless Bio streamlined with moderate job cuts.
Private Company Edition: ARCH raised more than $3bn for its eighth fund, Frazier added $630m to its public fund that also can back crossover rounds, DCVC’s third biotech fund totaled $400m and Asabys raised €180m ($200m) for its second fund. Also, Aktis closed a $175m series B round.
The German group is spinning off from Eckert & Ziegler and listing in Frankfurt, though a leap to the NASDAQ will likely follow once it has more data on a lymphoma theranostic.
MBX, Zenas and Bicara delivered positive returns in their first days of trading, but that has not always translated to good long-term results for drug developers that launched US IPOs this year.
