Finance Watch

Public Company Edition: Syndax received all $350m from its royalty financing up front, while KalVista got $100m initially out of up to $179m. Also, Vera, EyePoint and Eledon grossed $300m, $161m and $85m in follow-on offerings, while Neurogene raised $200m in a private placement.

Private Company Edition: Despite a third quarter dip, venture capital investment in biopharma in 2024 is on track to beat 2023, new data confirm. VC mega-rounds of $100m or more helped boost the total, including recent financings totaling $175m for Alpha-9 and $112m for AvenCell.

Public Company Edition: In addition to Septerna’s initial public offering, a new life science-focused SPAC went public. Also, Inventiva raised up to €348m ($376.2m), Akeso revealed a $250m private placement and Marinus is exploring strategic alternatives after a Phase III trial failure.

Private Company Edition: Seaport completed its series B round six months after launching with $100m. Also, Treeline disclosed $421.8m in new funding, among other recent $100m-plus VC mega-rounds, and three venture firms revealed more than $2.5bn in new funds.

Public Company Edition: Upstream grossed $255m and CAMP4 raised $75m in October’s first initial public offerings. In follow-on offerings, Crinetics and Scholar Rock brought in $500m and $300m, respectively. Also, Turnstone cut 60% of its workforce and Gritstone filed for bankruptcy.

Public Company Edition: Septerna, Apimeds, CAMP4 and Upstream filed paperwork with the SEC aiming to take advantage of renewed investor interest in IPOs. Also, Biohaven closed a $287.5m offering and Grifols subsidiary GigaGen obtained up to $135m from BARDA.

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. 

Public Company Edition: BioAge will fund a Phase II trial of its muscle atrophy prevention drug in combination with an obesity drug with its initial public offering proceeds. Also, Ascendis and Wave raised $281.3m and $200m, respectively, after positive clinical trial readouts.

Private Company Edition: Vicebio plans to take a combo vaccine into Phase I with its $100m series B venture capital round. Also, Nura Bio raised $68m to boost its series A total to $141m and George Church-founded GC Therapeutics launched with $75m, among other recent VC deals.

Public Company Edition: Follow-on public offerings brought in $500m for Nuvalent, $235m for Summit and $225m each for Centessa and Viridian after recent readouts. Also, Kairos raised $6.2m in this year’s 19th IPO, Bayer sold €750m ($834m) in bonds and an Ionis FOPO grossed $500.3m.

Private Company Edition: Bain will invest across private and public drug, device, diagnostic and tool companies. Also, Candid debuted with $370m in initial funding, Superluminal closed a $120m series A round, PanTera raised €93m ($102.4m) in series A cash and F2G brought in $100m.

ArsenalBio closed one of the largest VC rounds so far in 2024, raising $325m in series C funding, while Vaxcyte grossed $1.3bn in a follow-on offering. Also, Circle Pharma closed a $90m series D round and Jazz priced an $850m note sale, but IN8bio revealed a prioritization plan and job cuts.

Fifteen biopharma firms have launched IPOs in the US this year, but three more have joined the queue. Also, Galderma sold CHF500m ($590.7m) in bonds to pay down debt, Noetik raised a $40m series A round and ImCheck collected €20.18m ($22.4m) from the French government.

Restructuring Edition: BioMarin’s layoffs are associated with strategic shifts announced during its second quarter update. Also, Repare reduced its workforce by 25% as it focused in on clinical-stage programs and Aadi cut 80% of its R&D team to conserve cash after a clinical trial failure. 

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.

Public Company Edition: Actuate Therapeutics grossed $22.4m in its first-time offering, while already-public companies recently tapped a variety of sources for funding. Arrowhead negotiated a credit facility for up to $500m and ANI sold $275m worth of notes, among other financings.

Private Company Edition: Symbiotic Capital emerged with a $600m-plus fund to provide credit for private and public companies, while venBio raised a $528m fund. Also, Outpace Bio raised $144m, Jade Biosciences launched with $80m and MBX Biosciences raised $63.5m.

Public Company Edition: OS Therapies launched this year’s smallest initial public offering, to fund its lead program in osteosarcoma. Also, Australian firm Telix, after opting out of a US IPO, grossed A$650m ($425.5m) from investors at home. Day One raised $175m in a private placement.

Restructuring Edition: Vir will end influenza, COVID-19 and T-cell-based viral vector platform programs to focus on clinical hepatitis and cancer assets. Also, FibroGen cut 75% of its workforce after a clinical trial failure, while Arbutus, HilleVax, Pfizer and others also announced layoffs.