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Life Sciences Financings and Commentary #30 - October 17, 2020 - October 23, 2020
Financings
Number of deals: 14 & Total capital invested: $709.3M
- AavantiBio raised $107M from Perceptive Advisors, Bain Capital Life Sciences, and RA Capital Management to develop gene therapies for rare disease - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499305-aavantibio-with-help-from-sarepta-comes-on-with-a-105m-series-a?v=preview
- AbSci raised $65M led by Casdin Capital to scale their protein biomanufacturing platform.
- Araris Biotech raised $14M led by Pureos Bioventures to develop new ADC linkers - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499297-startup-araris-building-a-better-adc-linker-with-168m-seed-round?v=preview
- Azura Ophthalmics raised $20M from OrbiMed, TPG Biotech among others to develop new medicines for Meibomian gland dysfunction and ophthalmology in general.
- Be Biopharma raised $52M with RA Capital Management and Atlas Ventures co-leading the round to develop engineered B-cells focused in oncology. The major value proposition is the potential lack of preconditioning for patients - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499299-be-biopharma-launches-with-a-52m-series-a-to-develop-engineered-b-cell-medicines?v=preview
- Cohere Health raised $10M co-led by Flare Capital and Define Ventures to build a patient-physician collaboration software product.
- Dingdang Medicine Express Technology Co. raise $150M from Softbank China, CICC among others to scale their online prescription drug company (similar to Pillpack) in China.
- Dren Bio raised $60M co-led by SR One and Taiho Ventures to develop new medicines to selectively deplete cells via antibodies in oncology and autoimmunity. Congrats Alex and David - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499133-drens-60m-series-a-to-propel-it-through-preclinical-development?v=preview
- eVisit raised $14M led by TVC Capital to build a telemedicine product to help physicians provide virtual care to their patients.
- Oula Health raised $3.2M led by Collaborative Fund to build a digital maternity center focused on pregnancy and birth care.
- Sirnaomics raised $105M led by Rotating Boulder Fund to develop RNAi medicines for oncology and fibrosis.
- Sparingvision raised $52.5M led by 4Bio Capital to bring their AAV gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa to phase 1 trials - https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/sparingvision-raises-eu44-5m-to-develop-mutation-agnostic-gene-therapy
- v2food raised $55M from Temasek, Sequoia Capital among others to develop plant-based mears focused on the APAC market.
- Vitable Health raised $1.6M led by SoftBank to develop health plans with no copays or deductibles.
Exits
Number of exits: 6 & Total exit value: Over $3B
- Abcam raised $157M in an IPO. The company is the leading provider of antibodies and other reagents - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1492074/000119312520271612/d930102df1a.htm
- BioSpecifics Technologies merged with Endo International in a deal valued at ~$540M to bring the former’s collagenase-based therapies into the latter’s larger specialty pharma business - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biospecifics-to-be-acquired-by-endo-pharmaceuticals-301154494.html
- Gemini Therapeutics went public through a Foresite Capital sponsored SPAC raising $216M to develop their pipeline of medicines for AMD and ocular disease in general. Great work - https://endpts.com/foresite-pulls-gemini-therapeutics-to-nasdaq-in-a-quick-216m-spac-flip/
- IN8bio filed for a $86M IPO to develop gamma delta cell therapies in oncology - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1740279/000110465920115697/tm2030088-7_s1.htm
- Nuvation Bio went public through an EcoR1 Capital sponsored SPAC raising $500M to develop Nuvation’s expansive pipeline of oncology drugs spanning AML to glioma and pancreatic cancer - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499258-investors-bring-500m-to-the-nuvation-panacea-merger?v=preview
- Opthea raised $128.2M in an IPO to develop their pipeline of drugs in retinal diseases - https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/10/16/2109941/0/en/Opthea-Announces-Pricing-of-Initial-Public-Offering-in-the-United-States.html
Deals
Number of deals: 3 & Total deal value: $764.5M
- Atea Pharmaceuticals announced a deal with Roche to exclusively license its COVID-19 drug candidate, AT-527, for $350M in upfront cash with undisclosed milestones and royalties - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499302-roche-partners-with-atea-in-new-350m-covid-19-deal
- Huadong licensed rights to ImmunoGen’s ADC, mirvetuximab, for ovarian cancer for China. Immunogen received $40M in an upfront payments and up to $265 in biobucks - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499262-huadong-licenses-in-immunogen-adc-in-305m-deal-as-first-step-in-oncology-innovation?v=preview
- Rhizen Pharmaceuticals licensed its small molecule, tenalisib, that inhibits both PI3K delta and gamma to Curon Biopharmaceutical in a deal valued at $149.5M - https://www.bioworld.com/articles/499192-curon-and-rhizen-ink-1495-million-agreement-for-tenalisib?v=preview
I used to play football a long time ago - I had some decent success mainly because of my teammates with some of them playing in the NFL. Every practice, every game was an existential fight. I’m not that athletic so every year some 6’4 monster would show up trying to take my spot. Similarly, all of these companies are fighting for their right to exist whether they raised $1M or $100M. Building a great business requires passion and focus. A really powerful and useful framework to lead groups of people and win was developed by Bill Walsh -