Dozens Of Deals: VC Financings At A Glance
Company	Financing
Senda Biosciences; Cambridge, MA	The Flagship-founded company revealed on 10 June that it completed a $55m series B extension, bringing the round’s total to $98m. Senda has raised $143m to date, including $88m that it raised as of October. (Also see "Finance Watch: Three New Life Science VC Funds Total Nearly $1bn" - Scrip, 30 October, 2020.) The company is developing novel medicines for a variety of diseases based on interactions between humans, plants and bacteria that have evolved over millennia.
Abata Therapeutics; Boston	The start-up launched on 23 June with a $95m series A round to fund the translation of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) into treatments for progressive multiple sclerosis and other severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. ElevateBio, LLC, which raised $525m in March to continue expanding its cell therapy manufacturing capabilities and founding new companies, invested in Abata and will partner with the company to accelerate development of its Treg therapies. (Also see "ElevateBio Raises $525m To Expand Cell And Gene Therapy Expertise" - Scrip, 15 March, 2021.)
Orum Therapeutics; Boston and Daejeon, South Korea	Orum said on 23 June that it closed an $84m series B round, which includes $30m announced in July 2019. (Also see "Finance Watch: High Value Of Exits Keep Biopharma VC Deals At Near-Record Levels" - Scrip, 19 July, 2019.) The company is developing novel protein degraders for cancer and will use the extended series B round to take its lead programs into the clinic while further investing in new payload chemistries.
Tvardi Therapeutics, Inc.; Houston	Tvardi is developing STAT3 inhibitors and will use the $74m in series B financing it announced on 23 June to advance its lead small molecule candidates through mid-stage clinical trials in cancer and fibrosis. The company, which raised a $9m series A round in 2018, is already testing TTI-101 in advanced solid tumors in a Phase I study. (Also see "Finance Watch: Government Grants Galore And Other New Funding Sources" - Scrip, 4 October, 2018.)
Glycomine, Inc; San Carlos, CA	The orphan disease-focused firm said on 23 June that it closed a $68m series B round that will fund clinical trials for GLM101, a novel substrate replacement therapy for phosphomannomutase 2-congenital disorder of glycosylation (PMM2-CDG). The round includes $35m in new funding and $33m disclosed in August 2019. (Also see "Finance Watch: Landos Raises $60m Series B Round Ahead Of Phase II Data In 2020" - Scrip, 14 August, 2019.)
HiFiBiO Therapeutics; Cambridge, MA; Hong Kong, Shanghai and Hangzhou, China; Paris	Immune modulation specialist HiFiBiO raised a $67m series C round in August 2019. (Also see "Finance Watch: Summer Slowdown Nears Its End With Strategic Shifts And IPO Hopes " - Scrip, 30 August, 2019.) Now it has raised $75m in series D financing announced on 14 June that will fund Phase I trials for the anti-TNFR2 antibody HFB200301 and the anti-OX-40 antibody HFB301001. Its SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody HFB30132A is already in a Phase I trial.
Circle Pharma, Inc.; South San Francisco	The company said on 16 June that it raised $66m in series C financing, which follows a $45m series B round it raised last year to fund its ongoing macrocycle drug discovery and development efforts. (Also see "Finance Watch: iTeos, Pandion And Aspen Show COVID-19 Hasn’t Slowed VC Deals Yet" - Scrip, 1 April, 2020.) The new cash will be used to advance cyclin-targeted programs towards the clinic with the potential to treat Rb-dysregulated cancers and cyclin E-dependent malignancies.
Kojin Therapeutics Inc; Cambridge, MA	Kojin, which is developing targeted therapeutics based on cell state and ferroptosis (iron-dependent cell death) biology, revealed a $60m series A round on 9 June. The company will build and advance a pipeline of novel therapies with an initial focus on oncology.
TRexBio; South San Francisco	The discovery-stage company said on 22 June that it closed the final tranche of a $59m series A round, which it will use to expand its discovery platform that maps human tissue regulatory T-cell behavior to dysregulation in disease. TRexBio has six preclinical programs in a variety of indications, including cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Strand Therapeutics Inc; Cambridge, MA	Strand will use proceeds from a $52m series A round announced on 23 June to expand its portfolio of programmable, long-acting mRNA therapeutics for cancer and other diseases and take its lead immuno-oncology candidate into Phase I trials. BeiGene, Ltd. – which in January licensed rights in certain territories for up to two of the company’s IO programs – was an investor in the series A round. (Also see "Asia Deal Watch: Takeda, KSQ Take CRISPR Approach To T-Cell Oncology Therapy" - Scrip, 15 January, 2021.)
Enveda Biosciences, Inc.; Boulder, CO	Enveda disclosed a $51m series A round on 22 June, which it will use to screen, validate and develop natural compounds as first-in-class drug candidates. The company is using automation, machine learning and metabolomics to extract medicinal value from plants with the potential to treat a variety of diseases, including Wilson’s disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and Parkinson’s disease.
ImmuneID Inc.; Cambridge, MA	ImmuneID, which revealed $17m in initial funding in February, said on 23 January that it closed a $50m series A round. (Also see "Finance Watch: $2.2bn In New Funding Sources In February, So Far" - Scrip, 19 February, 2021.) The company is developing drugs based on its ability to identify antibody interactions that drive immune diseases and will use its new funding to advance drug candidates for the treatments of autoimmune diseases, severe allergies, cancer and infectious diseases.
OncoNano Medicine, Inc.; Southlake, TX	The company, which is using pH as a biomarker to diagnose and treat cancer, said on 17 June that it raised about $50m in series B financing. OncoNano raised $35.4m in series A funding, including $23.7m in July 2019. (Also see "Finance Watch: Among Multiple Mega-Rounds, Revolution Raises $100m For RAS Programs" - Scrip, 12 July, 2019.) The new cash will fund Phase III development of pegsitacianine, an imaging agent used in surgical resection of solid tumors, and investigational new drug (IND) application-enabling studies of ONM-501, a novel immunotherapeutic agent.
LENZ Therapeutics; San Diego	LENZ launched on 17 June with a $47m series A round to advance its eyedrop formulation of aceclidine for presbyopia toward US FDA submission. The asset has been tested in a 58-patient Phase II clinical trial and previously has been used in Europe to treat glaucoma.
KAHR Medical Ltd.; Jerusalem	KAHR, which raised $18m in February 2020, said on 16 June that it brought in another $46.5m. (Also see "Finance Watch: Multiple VC Mega-Rounds Fund T-Cell, Hearing, IO, Fibrosis Therapies" - Scrip, 7 March, 2020.) The company is developing multifunctional immuno-recruitment proteins to treat cancer and will use the new funding to take its lead fusion protein targeting CD47 and 4-1BB into multiple Phase I/II solid tumor and blood cancer trials.
CAMP4 Therapeutics; Cambridge, MA	The company launched in 2018 with $30m in series A funding and announced on 15 June that it raised another $45m. (Also see "Venture Funding Deals: Two Companies With China Ties Raise $260m Each" - Scrip, 5 June, 2018.) CAMP4 is targeting regulatory RNAs to control gene expression with precise, programmable therapeutics. Its initial focus is central nervous system (CNS) and liver diseases with a first IND filing expected in 2022.
ViaCyte, Inc.; San Diego	With multiple extensions of its series D round first announced in 2018, ViaCyte said on 9 June that it raised another $45m, bringing the total to more than $115m. (Also see "Finance Watch: Alternative Funding Sources Crucial Even Amidst A Biopharma VC Boom" - Scrip, 17 December, 2018.) The company will use the proceeds to continue advancing its clinical-stage stem cell-derived therapies that are designed to provide a functional cure for type 1 diabetes.
Neurona Therapeutics; San Francisco	Neurona is developing neural cell therapies for chronic neurological disorders and has raised $135m to date, including a $41.5m financing announced on 22 June. The company, which raised a $23.5m series A round in 2015, will use its new financing to advance its off-the-shelf cell therapies, including a Phase I/IIa trial for the inhibitory neuronal cell therapeutic NRTX-1001 in chronic focal epilepsy. (Also see "Startups Stand Out As 13 Biotechs Raise More Than $409m" - Scrip, 18 December, 2015.)
VectorY Therapeutics; Amsterdam	The company said on 15 June that it raised €31m ($37.6m) in seed funding to develop novel gene therapy approaches using vectorized antibodies to treat muscular and neurodegenerative disorders. The funding will be used to build manufacturing capabilities and establish preclinical proof of concept in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s disease.
Heartseed Inc.; Tokyo	Heartseed is developing iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes for heart failure and announced a JPY4bn ($37m) series C round on 11 June, bringing the company’s total fundraising to date to JPY8.2bn ($75m). Heartseed completed a Phase I/II trial of HS-001 in Japan and will use its new funding to initiate a global study. The company recently entered into a worldwide collaboration around the asset with Novo Nordisk A/S for $55m up front. (Also see "Asia Deal Watch: Heartseed Licenses Lead Cell Therapy Candidate To Novo Nordisk" - Scrip, 8 June, 2021.)
Vita Therapeutics, Inc.; Baltimore, MD	Vita said on 23 June that it closed a $32m series A round to fund its development of autologous and hypoimmunogenic cell therapies to treat muscular dystrophies. Lead product candidate VTA-100, which combines gene correction withs iPSCs differentiated into muscle stem cells, is in IND-enabling studies for the treatment of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. VTA-200 is a genetically engineered iPSC-derived therapy for multiple muscular dystrophies.
ITM Isotopen Technologien München AG; Munich, Germany	Two months after closing a €90m ($109m) convertible loan financing, ITM said on 10 June that it raised another €25m ($30m) in private financing to advance its precision oncology candidates across a variety of indications, including its Phase III radionuclide for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. (Also see "ITM Charts A Path From Radionuclides To Radiotherapeutics And Attracts Financing" - Scrip, 22 April, 2021.)
ENA Respiratory; Sydney, Australia	ENA Respiratory revealed on 15 June that it secured up to AU$32m ($24.2m) to fund the development of its nasal spray for the prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory viral infections. The company plans to initiate a Phase I safety study in the coming weeks.
Nuevocor; Singapore	The developer of gene therapies for cardiomyopathies said on 18 June that it completed a $24m series A round, which primarily will fund preclinical work on its lead adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy due to mutations in the lamin A/C (LMNA) gene.
Alcyone Therapeutics, Inc.; Lowell, MA	Alcyone launched on 9 June with $23m for the development of precision therapies for CNS diseases. The company has four gene therapy technology platforms and 12 AAV gene therapy programs for severe CNS disorders in its pipeline.

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