A new year brings a fresh Fierce Biotech Fundraising Tracker designed to record the significant amount of venture capital that flows into biopharma.
We’re keeping the same guidelines used for last year’s tracker and will only include financing rounds of $50 million and above.
May
May 19—Accro Bioscience
Series: C
Amount: $50M
Investors: OrbiMed, TCG Crossover, LAV, Cenova Capital, Shenzhen Capital Group and Oriza Holdings.
Based in Suzhou, China, Accro has added a $50 million series C to its coffers to finance a phase 2b trial of its lead RIPK2 inhibitor, AC-101, for ulcerative colitis. While earlier studies of the molecule took place in China and Australia, the biotech is now planning to move into U.S. patients. The funds will also bolster the rest of Accro's pipeline, which focuses on inflammatory and immunological diseases. Release
May 14—Create Medicines
Series: B
Amount: $122M
Investors: Newpath Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Hatteras Venture Partners, Alexandria Venture Investments and others.
As the wave of in vivo CAR-T hype crests, Create is catching the swell with a $122 million series B meant to back its early pipeline of autoimmune and cancer candidates. While Create’s autoimmune pipeline is entirely preclinical, it has dosed more than 50 patients in trials of its cancer candidates, which the company calls the “largest clinical dataset in the field.” Story
May 12—Isomorphic Labs
Series: B
Amount: $2.1B
Investors: Thrive Capital, Alphabet, GV, MGX, Temasek, CapitalG and the UK Sovereign AI Fund.
The London-based AI drug discovery firm brought in $600 million via its first external funding round a year ago and has now followed up with a $2.1 billion series B. Isomorphic, which was founded in 2021 within Google parent company Alphabet, will use the windfall to fund development of its next-generation artificial intelligence drug design model. Story
May 5—Cytospire Therapeutics
Series: A
Amount: $83M
Investors: 4BIO Capital, Servier Ventures, British Business Bank, Sound Bioventures, Criteria Bio Ventures, Abingworth, LifeArc Ventures, Modi Ventures, Medical Incubator Japan and Pathway Bioventures.
The British biotech said it will use the £61 million financing to advance its lead pan–gamma delta T-cell engager, CYT-X300, into the clinic for EGFR-positive solid tumors. Cytospire CEO Natalie Mount, Ph.D., said the London-based company is “building on the growing body of translational and clinical data showing gamma delta T cells are critical components of the anti-cancer immune response.” Release
April
April 29—Vivacta Biotechnology
Series: A and A+
Amount: $50M+
Investors: Loyal Valley Capital, Decheng Capital, OrbiMed, Hankang Capital, Eisai Innovation Inc., C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment, Qiming Venture Partners, Beijing Shunxi, and Apricot Capital.
The Chinese in vivo CAR-T outfit will use the raise to advance clinical trials of its lead candidate GT801, which is currently in a phase 1 trial for patients with relapsed or refractory CD19-positive B-cell malignancies. The biotech reported first-in-human data for GT801 at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting last December. The new funds will also support GT801's planned regulatory submission, as well as an expansion of Vivacta's research team and platform. Release
April 28—Coultreon Biopharma
Series: A
Amount: $125M
Investors: Sofinnova Investments, Forbion, Novo Holdings, Galapagos, Regeneron Ventures, Balyasny Asset Management, Luma Group, Samsara BioCapital, Longwood Fund and Finchley Healthcare Ventures.
After launching in 2025 as a refuge for shipwrecked assets from Galapagos, Onco3R Therapeutics is rebranding as Coultreon Biopharma and filling its treasure chest with a $125 million series A. Coultreon’s pipeline of Galapagos castaways is led by COL-5671, an oral inhibitor of salt-inducible kinase 3 (SIK3), which the Belgian biotech is developing for autoimmune disease. The series A haul will help advance COL-5671 from phase 1 testing to phase 2 studies in psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. Story
April 21—Tortugas Neuroscience
Series: Seed/Series A
Amount: $106M
Investors: Cure Ventures, The Column Group and AN Venture Partners.
Launched by veterans from Sage Therapeutics with a clinical-stage pipeline of assets licensed from Eisai and Hansoh Pharmaceutical, Tortugas has candidates being evaluated for patients with schizophrenia, tinnitus, focal epilepsy and reversible encephalopathies. Story
April 21—Ray Therapeutics
Series: B
Amount: $125M
Investors: Janus Henderson Investors, with participation from new investors Adage Capital Management, Franklin Templeton, Invus and Marshall Wace, alongside follow-on support from existing backers 4BIO Capital, Deerfield Management, MRL Ventures Fund, Norwest, Novo Holdings and Platanus.
The round will be used to finance the company’s vision restoration candidates for patients with retinal degeneration, which includes its lead candidate, RTx-015, which is designed to treat retinitis pigmentosa. The treatment recently received a Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation from the FDA. Story
April 21—Serif Biomedicines
Series: N/A
Amount: $50M
Investors: Flagship Pioneering
The debut financing is aimed at helping Serif write a new chapter for DNA medicines that are safer and more accessible than gene therapies. The new biotech hoped to develop a class of medicines that avoids a negative immune response and is difficult to manufacture. Story
April 16—Storm Therapeutics
Series: C
Amount: $56M
Investors: M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Taiho Ventures, IP Group, the UTokyo Innovation Platform and Fast Track Initiative.
Proceeds from the financing will support the British biotech's mid-stage study of a METTL3 inhibitor dubbed STC-15, which is designed to reprogram malignant progenitor cells by modulating mRNA methylation. Story
April 15—Terremoto Biosciences
Series: C
Amount: $108M
Investors: RA Capital Management, Deep Track Capital, Osage University Partners, BeOne Medicines, OrbiMed, Third Rock Ventures, Novo Holdings and Cormorant Asset Management.
Proceeds will be used to fund phase 1 studies of the company’s AKT1-selective inhibitor programs. The lead candidate in this pipeline, dubbed TER-2013, is already in the clinic as a potential treatment for solid tumors with PIK3CA, AKT or PTEN mutations. Story
April 15—Beeline Medicines
Series: A
Amount: $300M
Investors: Bain Capital and others.
Beeline Medicines flew out of stealth with the former leaders of SpringWorks Therapeutics and five autoimmune programs licensed from Bristol Myers Squibb to ensure its team stays busy. Story
April 13—Neomorph
Series: B
Amount: $100M
Investors: Deerfield Management, Regeneron Ventures, Longwood Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments, Binney Street Capital of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and others.
The San Diego biotech will use the raise to boost its pipeline of molecular glue degraders, especially an ongoing phase 1/2 trial of NEO-811 in locally advanced or metastatic non-resectable clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The cash will also go toward Neomorph's discovery platform, which focuses on targets previously thought to be undruggable. Release
April 10—Vivatides Therapeutics
Series: A
Amount: $54M
Investors: Qiming Venture Partners, Highlight Capital, TF Capital, Apricot Capital and a “leading industry fund.”
The Suzhou, China and Boston-based biotech, which was founded last year, has earmarked the proceeds to advance various RNA therapeutics into the clinic. Vivatides has been using its extrahepatic delivery platform to develop both siRNA and antisense oligonucleotide assets. Release
April 10—Oricell Therapeutics
Series: "Pre-IPO round"
Amount: $110M
Investors: Vivo Capital, Beijing Medical and Health Care Industry Investment Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, E-Town Capital, Luxin Venture Capital, NGS Super, Elikon Investment, Talon Capital and a “leading global healthcare fund.”
Having previously announced a $70 million series C1 in January, the Chinese company said it has now raised over $110 million in its final funding round before it seeks to go public. The biotech is also gearing up for further studies of its lead asset Ori-C101, with the ultimate aim of becoming the first globally-approved CAR-T for hepatocellular carcinoma. Story
April 8—Life Biosciences
Series: B
Amount: $80M
Investors: Not disclosed
The Boston biotech will use the cash to finance an ongoing phase 1 trial of its epigenetic reprogramming therapy, dubbed ER-100, for the eye conditions open-angle glaucoma and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. Life Bio also wants to explore the potential of its platform to partially reprogram the epigenome of aged and injured cells in other parts of the body. Release
April 8—Sidewinder Therapeutics
Series: B
Amount: $137M
Investors: Frazier Life Sciences, Novartis Venture Fund, OrbiMed, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, DCVC Bio, Samsara BioCapital, Longwood Fund and Astellas Venture Management.
Sidewinder is planning to take its lead bispecific antibody-drug conjugate into the clinic next year. The biotech’s programs are targeting lung cancer, head and neck cancers, gastrointestinal cancers and colorectal cancer. Story
April 8—Stipple Bio
Series: A
Amount: $100M
Investors: RA Capital, a16z Bio+Health, Nextech Invest, Emerson Collective Investments, GV, LoLa Capital Partners and GordonMD Global Investments.
With the cash in hand, Stipple expects its lead asset to enter the clinic early next year. Dubbed STP-100, the program is an antibody-drug conjugate leveraging tumor-specific binders designed to avoid on-target and off-tumor toxicity. Story
April 3—Syneron Bio
Series: B
Amount: $150M
Investors: An unnamed international life sciences fund, Decheng Capital, CDH VGC, True Light Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, BioTrack, AstraZeneca and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, among others.
Macrocyclic peptide company Syneron Bio closed its second round in four months with a $150 million series B to support its AI platform. The company is using the platform, dubbed Synova, to develop treatments for its oncology, autoimmune, metabolic and rare disease programs. In December, Syneron announced the successful raise of series A and A+ rounds collectively worth nearly $100 million, which followed a potentially $3.4 billion biobucks partnership with AstaZeneca last March. Story
March
March 31—Ambrosia Biosciences
Series: B
Amount: $100M
Investors: Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, Redmile, Deep Track Capital, BVF Partners Boulder Ventures, Janus Henderson Investors, Samsara BioCapital and an undisclosed institutional investor.
Ambrosia will use the funds to advance its oral small-molecule GLP-1 therapy into the clinic. According to the company’s website, the small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist has best-in-class potential, with low effective dosing, 24-hour target coverage, and favorable combinability characteristics. Story
March 30—Oncomatryx
Series: B
Amount: $67M
Investors: The Spanish government through Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnologico e Innovacion, Kutxa Fundazioa, the Basque Government, Ekarpen VC, BBK and others.
Spanish biotech Oncomatryx has raised $67 million in a series B funding round to support the clinical development of its antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting the tumor microenvironment. The public-private collaboration will advance the company’s ADC platform, which focuses on cancer-associated fibroblasts. According to Oncomatryx, the platform is supported by AI tools and quantum computing to aid in candidate selection and design. Phase 1b–2 clinical results from its lead candidate, OMTX705, are expected to be presented at conferences this year. Release
March 25—Gilgamesh Pharma
Series: A
Amount: $60M
Investors: Satori Neuro plus new and existing institutional investors including Prime Movers Lab
After rumors last year that AbbVie was interested in buying out Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, the companies instead struck a major a licensing deal worth up to $1.2 billion on psychiatric disorder candidate bretisilocin. As part of that agreement, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals spun off a new entity to house its other programs and retain its employees. Now, the new entity has completed its first formal capital raise. The $60 million Series A will support the company's portfolio of novel neuropsychiatric therapeutics and fuel "continued expansion of the company's discovery platform," the company said in a March 25 release. Gilgamesh's assets include oral NMDA receptor antagonist blixeprodil and AbbVie-partnered neuroplastogens for depression and anxiety, among others. Release
March 24—Immutrin
Series: A
Amount: $87M
Investors: Frazier Life Sciences, F-Prime, Qiming Venture Partners, SR One, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures.
The British biotech will use the funds to take its lead antibody asset through a clinical proof of concept study for ATTR cardiomyopathy, a serious and progressive form of amyloidosis. Immutrin's tech is based on research by amyloidosis pioneer Mark Pepys, M.D., Ph.D., and the company hopes their antibody has potential to treat other amyloidosis types, including rare forms. Release
March 18—Crossbow Therapeutics
Series: B
Amount: $77M
Investors: Taiho Ventures, Arkin Bio Capital, Sixty Degree Capital, Hamilton Square Partners Management LP, LifeLink Ventures, Libbs Ventures, Blood Cancer United’s Therapy Acceleration Program, MPM BioImpact, Pfizer Ventures, BVF Partners, Polaris Partners, Eli Lilly and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.
Crossbow’s top spending priority is an ongoing phase 1 trial of CBX-250, a T-cell engager designed to target a peptide human leukocyte antigen (pHLA) that’s found on myeloid cancer cells. A readout from the trial—which has enrolled patients with acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia—is due at the end of 2026. Story
March 17—R1 Therapeutics
Series: A
Amount: $77.5M
Investors: Abingworth, F-Prime Capital, DaVita Venture Group, Curie.Bio, SymBiosis and U.S. Renal Care
R1 Therapeutics is debuting with an oversubscribed $77.5 million series A funding round aimed at advancing its first-in-class therapy for patients with chronic kidney disease who are on dialysis and have high phosphate levels. The new company is launching with an exclusive global license to develop and commercialize an asset called AP306 from China-based Alebund Pharmaceuticals. The candidate is expected to enter a phase 2b study later this year. Story
March 3—Prolium Bioscience
Series: A
Amount: $50M
Investors: RTW Investments
Founded and now financed by RTW Investments, Prolium has emerged with $50 million to push forward PRO-203, a CD20xCD3 T-cell engager designed to treat severe autoimmune disease. The clinical candidate is already being studied in systemic sclerosis, and Prolium is planning to launch more trials this year in additional conditions that are driven predominantly by dysfunctional B-cells. Release
March 2—QL Biopharm
Series: C
Amount: $72.9M
Investors: OrbiMed, Qiming Venture Partners, Five Sources Capital, Xingze Capital, Huagai Capital, Taifu Capital, BlueRun Ventures and Taiyu Investment.
QL Biopharm (Zhitai Biopharmaceutical) has secured almost $73 million (over $500 million Chinese yuan) in a series C financing championed by OrbiMed. The China biotech will use the new funds to support its efforts to develop chronic metabolic disease treatments, including its lead candidate zovaglutide. The GLP-1 receptor agonist injection is designed to be administered monthly and is currently being studied in a phase 3 obesity trial. Release
February
Feb. 27—Atrium Therapeutics
Series: N/A
Amount: $270M
Investors: N/A
A new biotech has risen from the ashes of Novartis’ $12 billion acquisition of muscular dystrophy specialist Avidity. Atrium is led by Kathleen Gallagher, who previously spent five years at Avidity, most recently as chief program officer. Gallagher will guide two small interfering RNA assets, one for a rare genetic condition and the other for an inherited heart muscle disease, through investigational new drug application-enabling studies. Story
Feb. 25—BreezeBio
Series: B
Amount: $60M
Investors: Yuanta Investment, DSC Investment, SV investment, Kiwoom Investment, STIC Ventures, Top Harvest Capital, DAYLI Partners, Pathway Investment, Loftyrock Investment, Korea Investment Partners, WOORI Venture Partners, KDB Silicon Valley and ACVC Partners.
BreezeBio—the new name for GenEdit—will use the funds to take a candidate designed to restore immune tolerance in Type 1 diabetes into IND-enabling studies. The asset, dubbed BRZ-101, delivers autoantigens encoded by mRNA and tolerogenic co-factors to antigen-presenting cells. Story
Feb. 24—Slate Medicines
Series: A
Amount: $130M
Investors: RA Capital Management, Forbion, Foresite Capital and an unnamed biotech investor.
Slate is etching a total of $130 million into the chalkboard, money that will go toward developing next-gen migraine therapies, including a lead monoclonal antibody licensed from China's DartsBio Pharmaceuticals. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based biotech will advance the program, dubbed SLTE-1009, into a phase 1 study slated to launch in mid-2026. The asset is an anti-PACAP therapy, a novel drug class differentiated from approved preventive treatments that inhibit CGRP. Story
Feb. 19—Altesa BioSciences
Series: B
Amount: $75M
Investors: Forbion, Sanofi, Medicxi, Pitango and Atlantic Partners.
Top of the list of priorities for the series B cash is a phase 2b study of vapendavir, a once-failed Aviragen drug for the common cold. The study, which is due to launch in the second quarter, is expected to enroll 900 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the U.S. and U.K., who will then be randomized when they experience rhinovirus infection. Story
Feb. 18—Korsana Biosciences
Series: Seed / A
Amount: $175M
Investors: Fairmount, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Wellington Management, TCGX, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Sanofi Ventures, Foresite Capital and others.
A new entrant in the race to shepherd antibodies for Alzheimer’s disease across the blood-brain barrier has emerged. Headquartered in the Boston area, Korsana is led by Jonathan Violin, Ph.D., an experienced conductor for newly launched biotechs. Korsana’s lead Alzheimer’s candidate, KRSA-028, was discovered in partnership with Paragon Therapeutics, and the new biotech plans to push the asset into the clinic in early 2027. KRSA-028 is designed to cross the blood-brain barrier by binding to transferrin receptors, which normally shuttle iron into the brain, an approach also being tested by Roche, AbbVie and Denali Therapeutics. Story
Feb. 10—ILiAD Biotechnologies
Series: B
Amount: $115M
Investors: RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, BNP Paribas Asset Management and others.
The Florida-based biotech announced an oversubscribed round to advance the company’s next-generation whooping cough vaccine candidate. The oral treatment aims to be more accessible to treat a disease that is resurgent in recent years due to shrinking vaccination rates. Clinical data have shown ILiAD candidate BPZE1 to block B. pertussis from spreading to adult and adolescent nasal passages and indirectly protect children and infants by preventing transmission to others. Story
Feb. 9—QuantX Biosciences
Series: B
Amount: $85M
Investors: LAV, Sanofi Ventures, Hongshan and others.
The Sanofi-backed biotech will use the funds to take its pair of lead candidates into the clinic, including an oral STAT6 inhibitor for asthma and atopic dermatitis that is expected to enter human trials by the end of 2026. The other key priority is an oral IL-17 inhibitor for psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa that the New Jersey-based biotech hopes to enter phase 1 early next year. Release
Feb. 5—Angitia Biopharmaceuticals
Series: D
Amount: $130M
Investors: Frazier Life Sciences, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Ascenta Capital, certain funds and accounts managed by Blackrock, BVF Partners, Logos Capital, RA Capital Management, Wellington Management. Bain Capital Life Sciences, Elikon Venture, Janus Henderson Investors, 3H Health Investment, Hillhouse Investment, Legend Capital, Morningside Group, OrbiMed, TF Capital and Yonghua Capital.
Angitia has unveiled its second mega-round in 14 months, revealing a $130 million series D financing that positions the biotech to take three bone disease prospects deeper into the clinic. The biotech has advanced three candidates into phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. The pipeline is spearheaded by AGA111, a recombinant human BMP-6 protein that is in a phase 3 trial in patients undergoing lumbar interbody fusion. Story
Feb. 4—Third Arc Bio
Series: A extension
Amount: $52M
Investors: New investor Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) leads the extension with Omega Funds; additional investors include Life Sciences at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, BVF Partners, funds managed by abrdn, accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Marshall Wace, Hillhouse Investment, Galapagos, AbbVie Ventures and Alderline Group.
Third Arc is extending its $165 million series A financing raised in 2024, adding on a $52 million extension for a total of $217 million. The biotech will use the new cash infusion to continue developing multifunctional antibodies for oncology and immunology & inflammation conditions. The biotech's lead program, coded ARC101, is a bispecific T cell engager currently in a phase 1 trial for solid tumors. Release
January
Jan. 29—Tenpoint Therapeutics
Series: B
Amount: $85M
Investors: Janus Henderson, EQT Nexus, Hillhouse, British Business Bank, EQT Life Sciences, Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime, Eight Roads, Qiming Venture Partners USA, AdBio and Wille.
With its eye drops for the age-related eye disease presbyopia just approved on Jan. 28, Tenpoint is now taking in $85 million to help launch the product, called Yuvezzi. The company plans to release the recently approved med in the second quarter of 2026. Story
Jan. 29—Breakthru Medicine
Series: A
Amount: $60M
Investors: N/A
Breakthru has emerged from stealth with $60 million, a molecular glue platform, and a pipeline of small molecules and antibody-drug conjugate payloads. The biotech was formed by Steve Potts, Ph.D.; Mark Mulvihill, Ph.D.; and Brian Barnett, M.D., in efforts to develop "disruptive therapeutic modalities" for cancer patients with high unmet need. Breakthru did not share any information about its investors or further details regarding its programs. Release
Jan. 27—TRexBio
Series: N/A
Amount: $50M
Investors: Janus Henderson Investors, Balyasny Asset Management, Affinity Asset Advisors, Alexandria Venture Investments, Avego BioScience Capital, Delos Capital, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Pfizer Ventures, Polaris Partners and SV Health Investors.
TRexBio has raised $50 million to support its Treg platform, which is designed to develop treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. These include TRB-061, a TNFR2 agonist currently being tested in a phase 1a/b trial for atopic dermatitis. The new cash will also go toward TRB-071 and TRB-081, which are both expected to launch in separate phase 1 trials in 2027. Release
Jan. 22—Corxel Pharmaceuticals
Series: D
Amount: $287M
Investors: SR One, TCGX, RA Capital Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, SymBiosis, Adage Capital Management, Invus, SilverArc Capital, RTW Investments, Hengdian Group Capital and others.
In a reminder of the money still on the table for enticing obesity assets, Corxel Pharmaceuticals has raised $287 million to bankroll phase 2 studies of its oral GLP-1 receptor agonist. Shanghai-headquartered Corxel licensed the ex-China rights to the drug, dubbed CX11, from biotech Vincentage in late 2024. Vincentage has already launched a phase 3 study of CX11 in China, while Corxel is running a phase 2 trial in the U.S. in patients with overweight and obesity. The series D will be used to finance a planned global phase 2 study in patients with Type 2 diabetes as well as support Corxel’s plans for its own phase 3 trials. Story
Jan. 22—Mendra
Series: A
Amount: $82M
Investors: OrbiMed, 8VC, 5AM Ventures, Lux Capital and Wing VC.
A new AI biotech with a focus on rare disease is taking off in the Bay Area. The company is co-founded and led by BioMarin vet Joshua Grass, who previously served as CEO at Modis Therapeutics and Escient Pharmaceuticals. Mendra will use the series A haul to buy rare disease candidates for its portfolio and then plans to use AI to speed up clinical development. Release
Jan. 21—Think Bioscience
Series: A
Amount: $55M
Investors: Regeneron Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Janus Henderson Investors, T.A. Springer, CE-Ventures, MBX Capital, YK Bioventures, AV8 Ventures, CU Innovations and Buff Gold Ventures.
The Colorado-based biotech will harness the cash to push forward its lead small molecule program for Noonan syndrome, a genetic developmental disorder characterized by atypical facial features that often comes with congenital heart disease, learning disabilities and other complications. There are currently no treatments for the disease that target the biology underpinning it. Release
Jan. 20—Exciva
Series: B
Amount: $59M (€51M)
Investors: Gimv, EQT Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, LifeArc Ventures, Carma Fund, Modi Ventures, Andera Partners and LBBW.
The German biotech will use the funds to bankroll a phase 2 study of its lead neuropsychiatric candidate for treating agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The therapy, called deraphan, is a combination of the cough suppressant dextromethorphan with a CYP2D6 inhibitor and a 5-HT2A/2C receptor inverse agonist. Release
Jan. 16—Cytotheryx
Series: A
Amount: $60M
Investors: Ouroboros Family Founders Fund I, LP
Cytotheryx, a preclinical cell therapy biotech, has circled up $60 million to advance its liver disease programs toward the clinic. The new cash infusion will also help the platform company grow its manufacturing infrastructure, according to the Minnesota business. Release
Jan. 13—Proxima
Series: Seed
Amount: $80M
Investors: DCVC, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Braidwell, Roivant, AIX Ventures, Yosemite, Magnetic Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Modi Ventures and others.
AI drug discovery outfit VantAI is rebranding to Proxima as it pockets $80 million to build a pipeline of "proximity therapeutics," based on interactions between proteins. Release
Jan. 12—Vibrant Therapeutics
Series: N/A
Amount: $61M
Investors: Pfizer Ventures, Apricot Capital, Bayland Capital, HSG, Northern Light Venture Capital and First Principle Venture
China and U.S.-based Vibrant will use the cash to advance a pipeline led by VIB305, a masked T-cell engager prodrug designed to treat EGFR-expressing solid tumors. VIB305 is alerady being evaluated in phase 1 clinical trials in Australia and China. Release
Jan. 12—Cytotheryx
Series: A
Amount: $60M
Investors: Ouroboros Family Founders Fund I
The Minnesota-based biotech will use the financing to "advance multiple programs into the clinic." Cytotheryx is using its bio-incubator platform for scalable liver cell production, as well as to develop a bioartificial liver support system for the treatment of acute liver failure, and a universal liver cell therapy designed for transplantation in patients with rare genetic and chronic liver diseases. Release
Jan. 10—Kinaset Therapeutics
Series: B
Amount: $103 million
Investors: RA Capital Management, Forge Life Science Partners, EQT Life Sciences, Vivo Capital, Schroders Capital, Willett Advisors, Pictet Alternative Advisors, Sixty Degree Capital, Atlas Venture, 5AM Ventures and Gimv.
The respiratory disease-focused biotech will use the funds to finance a phase 2 dose-ranging study of frevecitinib, an inhaled dry powder pan-JAK inhibitor in development for patients with asthma. Release
Jan. 9—AirNexis Therapeutics
Series: A
Amount: $200 million
Investors: Frazier Life Sciences, OrbiMed, Life Sciences at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, SR One, Longitude Capital and Enavate Sciences, among others.
AirNexis is taking flight with $200 million and a clinical-stage asset from Haisco Pharmaceutical Group that aims to treat lung disease. The PDE3/4 inhibitor is designed to expand the airways and reduce the release of inflammatory factors for patients with for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. AirNexis paid $40 million cash for development rights to the program outside of China and Haisco now holds a 20% equity stake in the biotech. Story
Jan. 9—Medipost
Series: N/A
Amount: $140 million
Investors: Skylake Equity Partners, Crescendo Equity Partners and a Korean growth equity fund.
Stem cell therapy-focused Medipost's parent company, also called Medipost, has raised $140 million to launch a phase 3 trial for its investigational mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy. The trial will enroll patients with symptomatic cartilage defects and knee osteoarthritis, an inflammation-driven degenerative disease. Release
Jan. 8—Parabilis Medicines
Series: F
Amount: $305 million
Investors: RA Capital Management, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Janus Henderson Investors, Frazier Life Sciences, Soleus Capital, a life science-dedicated investment fund, venBio Partners, Cormorant Asset Management, Nextech Invest, ARCH Venture Partners, Milky Way Investments, GV, accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Marshall Wace, General Catalyst, Invus, Farallon Capital Management, Foresite Capital, Rock Springs Capital, HBM Healthcare, Samsara BioCapital, Catalio Capital Management, Sixty Degree Capital, Alderline Group and others.
The Massachusetts biotech, formerly known as FogPharma, will harness the new cash to advance FOG-001, recently renamed zolucatetide, toward a pivotal phase 3 trial in desmoid tumors. Parabilis will also use the large fundraise to support the rest of its pipeline—all preclinical—as well as to build out its platform capabilities. Story
Jan. 8—Alveus Therapeutics
Series: A
Amount: $160 million
Investors: Andera Partners, New Rhein Healthcare Investors, Omega Funds, Sanofi Capital, Kurma Partners, Avego BioScience Capital and others.
Looking to overcome some of the limitations of existing obesity drugs, Alveus has debuted with an impressive roster of executives ready to take the biotech’s mission forward. Launched under the stewardship of former I-Mab CEO Raj Kannan, Alveus aims to advance an undisclosed number of obesity candidates, with the dual-acting asset ALV-100 leading its current development roster. Story
Jan. 8—Diagonal Therapeutics
Series: B
Amount: $125 million
Investors: Sanofi Ventures, Janus Henderson Investors, Deep Track Capital, EcoR1 Capital, Logos Capital, Balyasny Asset Management L.P., Woodline Partners LP, Atlas Venture, BVF Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, RA Capital Management, Frazier Life Sciences, Viking Global Investors, RV Invest, Velosity Capital, Biovision Ventures and Checkpoint Capital.
Diagonal will use the raise to move its first-in-class rare disease drug DIAG723 into a first-in-human trial, which is set to begin in the first half of this year in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. The new investment will also help advance the biotech's earlier pipeline of assets, which are designed to selectively address the underlying causes of disease in conditions spanning hematology, hepatology and nephrology. Story
Jan. 8—EpiBiologics
Series: B
Amount: $107 million
Investors: Google Venture, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis Venture Fund, Aulis Capital, Avego BioScience Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Polaris Partners, Digitalis Ventures, Taiho Ventures, Vivo Capital, Codon Capital and Mission BioCapital.
The San Francisco Bay Area-based biotech plans to use the cash is to take its lead bispecific antibody, dubbed EPI-326, into the clinic. The goal is to launch a clinical trial of the EGFR degrader in non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma early this year. Story
Jan. 8—Beacon Therapeutics
Series: C
Amount: $75 million-plus
Investors: Life Sciences at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, the Retinal Degeneration Fund, the venture arm of Foundation Fighting Blindness, Syncona Limited, Forbion, Oxford Science Enterprises and Advent Life Sciences.
As the biotech awaits phase 3 data in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa for its lead candidate laru-zova, Beacon is bringing in more than $75 million to get the gene therapy across the finish line and potentially to market. The funds will also support preclinical programs in geographic atrophy, an inherited cone rod dystrophy and another undisclosed asset. Release
Jan. 7—Soley Therapeutics
Series: C
Amount: $200 million
Investors: Surveyor Capital, HRTG Partners, RWN Management, Doug Leone Family Fund, Breyer Capital and GordonMD Global Investments
The South San Francisco-based company’s pipeline uses a cell stress sensing platform that harnesses artificial intelligence and “computer vision” to analyze thousands of responses in human cells. The fresh funds have been earmarked to take two of Soley’s oncology drugs into the clinic, led by an acute myeloid leukemia asset. Story
Jan. 7—Rakuten Medical
Series: F
Amount: $100 million
Investors: TaiAx Life Science Fund, Daiwa Securities, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, ABIES Capital, Nexus CVC, OEP Group, SBI Group, Rakuten Group and Rakuten Medical CEO Mickey Mikitani
San Diego-based Rakuten Medical is focused on a global phase 3 trial evaluating ASP-1929 in combination with Merck & Co.’s Keytruda as a first-line treatment for recurrent head and neck cancer. ASP-1929 consists of the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody cetuximab conjugated to the light-activatable dye IRDye 700DX. Story
Jan. 7—Corsera Health
Series: A
Amount: $80 million
Investors: Forbion, Population Health Partners and others.
RNAi outfit Corsera will use the raise to support its first clinical trial, a phase 1 study of PCSK9-targeting siRNA COR-1004 that just began dosing patients. The company's lead cardiovascular program also includes COR-2003, which is designed to target angiotensinogen and is set to enter a clinical trial of its own in mid-2026. The biotech's goal is to develop preventative RNAi medicines for cardiovascular health that are taken yearly. Release
Jan. 7—Poplar Therapeutics
Series: A
Amount: $50 million
Investors: SR One, Vida Ventures and Platanus
The immunology company, previously known as Phylaxis Bioscience, will use the series A funds to advance its pipeline of anti-IgE therapies for food allergy and other atopic conditions. Poplar hopes its lead asset PHB-050, which is already in phase 1 trials, will offer a treatment for patients with highly elevated IgE levels who can't benefit from existing therapies. Release