32 Innovative Drug Companies Secure Over $100M in Funding in November; Several File IPO Prospectuses

Dec 06, 2023 17:15 CST Updated 17:15

Argo

RNAi Drug Developer

YolTech Therapeutics

mRNA Drug and Gene Editing Drug Developer

▎Edited by the WuXi AppTec content team

In November this year, a large number of pharmaceutical companies worldwide received financing,The financing funds of these companies will drive the development of innovative pharmaceutical technologies.According to incomplete statistics from Innovation Radar, in November, a total of 65 biopharmaceutical companies worldwide received financing, with a total financing amount exceeding 14 billion yuan.Among them, the data worth noting include:

Cell and gene therapy companies still attract attention:InstituteIn financing events, 14 companies are developing cell and gene therapies, accounting for 22%. The two companies that completed IPOs this month are CARGO Therapeutics, a CAR-T cell therapy research and development company, and LEXEO Therapeutics, a gene therapy research and development company.
Multiple AI Pharmaceutical Companies Secure FinancingIn November, a total of 7 financing companies were AI drug discovery companies, with 5 from the United States and 2 from South Korea. These companies aim to leverage artificial intelligence to help patients in fields such as oncology and neurology access targeted drugs more quickly.
The Proportion of Financing Events Exceeding 100 Million Yuan Increases: NovemberThe number of disclosed financing events is 58.There were 32 financing events exceeding 100 million yuan, accounting for 55%, higher than the proportion in October (43%).
Multiple European Companies Secure Funding to Focus on Drug Development for Neurological Disorders: Among the 20 European companies that received financing, 8 are involved in drug development for neurological diseases, including gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.Companies such as VectorY Therapeutics, NMD Pharma, a small-molecule therapy R&D company for neuromuscular diseases, and Kynexis Therapeutics, a precision therapy R&D company for brain diseases.

# Argo Completes 300 Million Yuan A+ Round Financing

11On the 1st of the month, Argo Biopharma announced the completion of a 300 million yuan A+ round of financing.Argo is an siRNA drug research and development company,Committed to developingNew Generation siRNA Drugs, for the wholeBall PatientsProvide better treatment options.The company specializes in nucleic acid sequence design, chemical modification, and GalNAc delivery technology,Liver-targeted delivery technology, oligonucleotide synthesis, CMC, and other RNAi drug development workflowsArgo has many years of professional experience and has established a complete nucleic acid drug development platform.It is reported that the proceeds from this round of financing will be used to further advance the global development of four clinical pipelines, the discovery of multiple preclinical candidate drug molecules (PCC), the iterative upgrading of modification technology platforms and extrahepatic delivery technology platforms, as well as the enhancement of the company’s professional team.

# YolTech Therapeutics Completes Over 100 Million Yuan in Series A+ Financing

On November 30, YolTech Therapeutics announced the completion of an over RMB 100 million Series A+ financing round. After completing an over RMB 100 million Series A financing round in August last year, the company has once again secured an over RMB 100 million financing. Thus far, YolTech Therapeutics' Series A financing totals nearly RMB 300 million. YolTech Therapeutics focuses onCombining mRNA in vivo delivery technology and gene editing technologyThrough the continuous development and optimization of CRISPR, base editing, and other next-generation gene editing tools, as well as innovative improvements in the new generation of mRNA production platforms and lipid nanoparticle carrier assembly processes, it is committed to developing in vivo gene editing drugs for genetic and cardiovascular diseases.

Currently, YolTech Therapeutics' first in-vivo gene editing drug pipeline, YOLT-201, has completed toxicological and pharmacological studies. The IND application documents for YOLT-201 were recently submitted to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China, paving the way for the initiation of registration clinical trials for in-vivo gene editing drugs based on mRNA-LNP delivery.

# Zhi Tai Bio Completes Nearly 200 Million Yuan B+ Round Financing

November 27Recently, Zhip肽 Biotech announced the completion of a nearly 200 million RMB B+ round of financing.It is reported that the proceeds of this round of financing will be mainly used forFor pushingArgo Biopharma and YolTech TherapeuticsClinical Trial Progress of Similar Drug-Related Pipelines。Quality Peptide Biotech was founded in 2018, focusing onDevelopment of Recombinant Protein Drugs Based on E. coli Technology Platform。

According to the press release, the company's pipeline has reached more than 10 programs, focusing on the development of indications in the metabolic disease field targeting GLP-1.Among them, the company has developed a new type of ultra-long-acting GLPThe Phase 1 clinical study of ZT002, a -1 receptor agonist, for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes has been completed in Australia. It has also received clinical approval in China for three indications: glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes, weight loss treatment for adults with obesity or overweight, and Alzheimer's disease.ZT002 is a GLP-1 analog molecule, optimized through molecular design to possess a longer half-life, with the potential to achieve once-monthly dosing. This can significantly reduce the frequency of administration, effectively improve patient compliance, and alleviate the suffering caused by frequent injections.

# Hank Microbiology Completes Over 100 Million Yuan Pre-A Round Financing

November 20thHawkeye Microbiology Completes Over 100 Million Yuan Pre-A Round Financing.Hank Microbiology FocusDrug Development for Gut-Brain Axis Live Microorganisms and Metabolites, which will mainly be used to accelerate the clinical trials of the company's drug pipeline and promote the development of early-stage research projects.Hank Microbiology was founded in 2021.The founder, Professor Zhu Shu, is currently a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China and the deputy director of the Comprehensive Health Research Institute of the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center.For a long time, Zhu ShuThe professor is dedicated to researching immune recognition and regulation of gut microbiota, as well as innovative microbial therapies, and hasCell、Nature、SciencePublished multiple original research papers.

Reportedly, to establish a drug development platform for live microorganisms, Han Microbiotics has built a comprehensive microbial industrialization system covering isolation and cultivation, functional screening, mechanism research, and application. The company has independently constructed a library of over 15,000 strains, including gut microbiota from healthy individuals, gut microbiota from special populations, a catalog of food-related strains, and gene editing of dozens of strains. By combining functional screening with mechanism research, the team accelerates the drug pipeline process by discovering new functional molecules, new targets, and new circuit mechanisms, and identifying effector molecules. The company has established a diversified drug pipeline based on microorganisms and their metabolites targeting immune and neuro-modulatory functions. Among these, three drugs for conditions such as depression and autoimmune diseases have entered the investigator-initiated clinical trial (IIT) stage, with clinical efficacy data expected to be obtained successively next year.

# CARGO Therapeutics Goes Public on Nasdaq

News on November 9: CARGO Therapeutics announced its listing on NASDAQ, with total proceeds from this public offering amounting to approximately $281.3 million. In March this year,CARGO Therapeutics Completes $200 Million Series A Financing, High Amount of Financing Also Draws Attention.

CARGO TherapeuticsDedicated to the development of novel Chimeric Antigen Receptor T（CAR-T）Cell Therapy,Aimed at overcoming the limitations of approved cell therapies, including issues such as limited durability of efficacy, safety, and unreliable supply. The company's lead candidate projectCRG-022 is an autologous CD22 CAR-T cell therapy., will undergo a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have developed resistance to targeted CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. In addition, the company is leveraging its proprietary cell engineering platform technology to develop a series of projects involving multiple gene therapies.Pipeline, aiming to enhanceCAR-TCell persistence and migration ability to tumor lesions, and help combat tumor drug resistance and T-cell exhaustion.

CARGO Therapeutics was founded by Dr. Crystal Mackall, who is a professor of pediatrics and medicine at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Cancer Cell Therapy Center. Dr. Mackall is recognized within the industry...Renowned media Endpoints selects as one of the 20 figures in the biomedical field in 2023OutstandingFemale(One of the 'Women in Biopharma 23') and will participate as a guest.2024 WuXi AppTec Global Forum。

# Lexeo Therapeutics Successfully Listed on NASDAQ

On November 3, Lexeo Therapeutics announced that it would raise approximately $100 million through an IPO. Lexeo Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene therapy company dedicated to applying groundbreaking scientific technologies.Fundamentally Change Hereditary Cardiovascular Diseases andAPOE4Treatment Methods Related to Alzheimer's DiseaseCurrently, Lexeo has two products in clinical development. LX2006 is a gene therapy candidate designed to deliver functionalFXNGene, used to treat Friedreich's ataxia cardiomyopathy – the most common cause of death for patients with Friedreich's ataxia. Another clinical-stage therapy under Lexeo is LX1001, a gene therapy candidate delivered byAPOE2Gene Therapy for APOE4 Homozygous Alzheimer's Disease Patients.

# VectorY Completes €129 Million Series A Financing

On November 13, VectorY Therapeutics announced the completion of a €129 million Series A financing round.VectorY Therapeutics was founded in the Netherlands in 2020.The company aims to develop antibody therapies expressed through vectors for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The funding will be used to support the clinical development of the lead project, VTx-002, an investigational gene therapy targeting TDP-43 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The company's technology platformCombine the potential of precision therapeutic antibodies with a one-time AAV vector-based delivery technology to deliver therapeutic antibodies to the central nervous system., treating neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Huntington's disease.

# NMD Pharma Obtains75 million eurosSeries B Financing

On November 15, NMD Pharma announced that it had raised 75 million euros (approximately 80 million US dollars) in Series B financing.NMD PharmaIn 2015Year from Aarhus University, Denmark (Aarhus University) was spun off and established, dedicated to developing treatments for patients with neuromuscular diseases.A clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel improved therapies,Its main product, NMD670, is a ClC-1 inhibitor designed to enhance neuromuscular transmission, with the aim of restoring muscle function in a range of rare neuromuscular disorders.Currently, the drug is being tested in phase 2 clinical trials for myasthenia gravis and spinal muscular atrophy. In addition, another ClC-1 inhibitor, NMD1343, has entered phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of rare neuromuscular disorders.

# Oncocross Completes Pre-IPO Round of Financing Worth 14.5 Billion KRW

On November 13, Oncocross announced the completion of a 14.5 billion KRW Pre-IPO round of financing. Oncocross is an AI-driven drug discovery company.Oncocross's drug discovery platform is called RAPTOR AI,Discover innovative therapies, new indications for existing drugs, and indications for novel drug combinations using an AI platform based on transcriptomic data.The company is currently focusing on two main pipelines: "OC514," a candidate drug for sarcopenia in the elderly, and "OJP3101," a candidate drug for reperfusion injury inhibitor. It is reported that this round of financing will be used to support the development of additional pipelines and the research, development, and operation of the AI-based drug screening platform.

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32 Innovative Drug Companies Secure Over $100M in Funding in November; Several File IPO Prospectuses

Argo

YolTech Therapeutics

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