Q1 2025 Global Biopharma Financing Highlights: AI Drug Discovery, Epigenetic Therapies, and Gene Editing Lead Innovation Surge
Isomorphic Labs
AI Drug Developer
Character Biosciences
Precision Medical Solutions Developer for Genetic Diseases
We will continue to delve deeper into innovative companies and larger financing rounds, focusing more reports on clinical trial results, M&A activities, and special reports.
March
March 31 - Isomorphic Labs
Series: Not Applicable
Amount: 600 million US dollars
Investors: Led by Thrive Capital, with participation from GV (Google Ventures) and follow-up funding from Alphabet.
Since its establishment in 2021 under Alphabet, Google's parent company, the artificial intelligence drug discovery company Isomorphic Labs has completed its first external financing round, raising $600 million to advance projects across multiple therapeutic areas. Isomorphic Labs will use the funds to support the R&D of its next-generation AI drug design models and aims to expand its team as the company grows.
March 26 — Epicrispr Biotechnology Company
Series: B Round
Amount: 68 million US dollars
Investors: Ally Bridge Group, SOLVE FSHD, and other investors.
South San Francisco-based biotech company will use the funds to advance its disease-modifying therapy EPI-321 for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy into clinical trials. Epicrispr plans to launch a trial in New Zealand this year, which the company claims will be "the first epigenetic therapy to enter clinical trials for neuromuscular diseases."
March 25 - Character Biosciences
Series: B Round
Amount: 93 million US dollars
Investors: aMoon, Luma Group, Bausch + Lomb, Jefferson Life Sciences, Endeavors, Catalio Capital Management, S32, and KdT Ventures.
This biotech company focused on eye diseases will use the funds to advance its lead assets for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), CTX203 and CTX114, into clinical trials, and expand its R&D pipeline to other eye conditions. The company already has another project in the early stages of AMD, as well as a program targeting primary open-angle glaucoma.
March 25 - Hillstar Bio
Series: Series A
Amount: 67 million US dollars
Investors: Droia Ventures, Frazier Life Sciences, Novo Holdings, LifeArc Ventures, and Hummingbird Bioscience.
This Boston-based biotechnology company was founded with the goal of "revolutionizing the treatment of autoimmune diseases by selectively depleting pathogenic cells through a precision-driven approach while preserving healthy cells." The Series A funding has been earmarked to advance Hillstar's lead asset (targeting TRBV9 T cells) into clinical trials next year.
March 24 - Augustine Therapeutics
Series: Series A
Amount: 84.8 million US dollars
Investors: Jeito Capital, Novo Holdings, Asabys Partners, Eli Lilly, AdBio Partners, V-Bio Ventures, PMV, VIB, Gemma Frisius Fund, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation, and Newton Biocapital.
This French biotechnology company plans to use the funds to advance its lead candidate drug, AGT-100216 (an HDAC6 inhibitor), into a Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, while "supporting significant pipeline expansion in the fields of cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases."
March 24 - Tempero Bio
Series: B Round
Amount: 70 million US dollars
Investors: 8VC, Aditum Bio, Khosla Ventures, and other unnamed investors.
This company, focused on substance use disorders, has earmarked new funds to advance its lead candidate drug TMP-301 (an mGluR5 negative allosteric modulator) into two Phase 2 trials targeting alcohol use disorder and cocaine use disorder. The California-based biotech will also conduct Phase 3 enabling activities and plans to initiate preclinical studies for other indications and formulations.
March 19 - Ampersand Biomedicines
Series: B Round
Amount: 65 million US dollars
Investors: Flagship Pioneering, Eli Lilly and Company, and other unnamed new investors.
Flagship's Biotech Company Secures $65 Million to Advance Its Computation-Driven Platform for Developing Novel Biotherapeutics
March 18 - Arbor Biotechnologies
Series: Series C
Amount: 73.9 million US dollars
Investors: Led by Arch Venture Partners and TCGX, new investors QIA, Partners Investment, Revelation Partners, and Kerna Ventures joined, along with other existing investors.
As Other Gene-Editing Ventures Fold or Sell, Arbor Biotechnologies Secures Nearly $74 Million to Advance Its Leading Liver-Targeted Gene Therapy into Human Trials
March 17 - Maxion Therapeutics
Series: Series A
Amount: 72 million US dollars
Investors: Led by General Catalyst, with participation from British Patient Capital, Solasta Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, LifeArc Ventures, Monograph Capital, and BGF.
This British biotechnology company will use the oversubscribed funds to further develop its antibody-based KnotBody platform for the treatment of ion channel and G protein-coupled receptor-driven diseases. The company’s lead asset, MAX001, is currently in preclinical development for inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease, while other early-stage programs aim to target pain and cardiovascular diseases.
March 17 - Latigo Biotherapeutics
Series: B Round
Amount: 150 million USD
Investors: Blue Owl Capital, Deep Track Capital, Access Biotechnology, Qatar Investment Authority, and Sanofi Ventures.
Ratigo Will Use $150 Million in Series B Financing to Advance Its Non-Opioid Painkiller Pipeline. More specifically, the funds will help the company advance its oral small-molecule Nav1.8 inhibitors LTG-001 and LTG-305 into clinical trials, with the lead asset LTG-001 currently in Phase 1 trials.
March 17 - Curevo Vaccine
Series: B Round
Amount: $110 million
Investors: Medicxi, OrbiMed, Sanofi Ventures, HBM Healthcare Investments, RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Adjuvant Capital, and GC Biopharma.
This Seattle-based biotech company plans to inject new funds into the Phase 2 expansion program of amezosvatein, a non-mRNA adjuvant subunit vaccine designed to prevent shingles. In order to compete with the shingles vaccine Shingrix, Curivo has also recruited two former GSK executives to join its board of directors.
March 10 - Lila Sciences
Series: Seed Round
Amount: 200 million USD
Investors: Flagship Pioneering, General Catalyst, March Capital, ARK Venture Fund, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Blue Horizon Advisors, State of Michigan Retirement System, Modi Ventures, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Biotech incubator Flagship Pioneering has launched its latest company. Lila Sciences plans to use its $200 million seed funding to develop new advanced artificial intelligence technologies to drive fully autonomous research laboratories. Flagship claims that the company's technology has already achieved breakthrough results, including the development of new gene therapies that outperform commercial treatments, as well as the discovery and validation of hundreds of new antibodies.
March 4 - Garuda Therapeutics
Series: A-1 Round
Amount: 50 million US dollars
Investors: OrbiMed, Northpond Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management (Cormorant Asset Management)
t) and Kyowa Kirin.
Focused on off-the-shelf cell therapies for blood disorders, Garuda Therapeutics will use the funds to advance its lead hematopoietic stem cell transplantation candidate into clinical trials for the treatment of bone marrow failure syndrome and thalassemia. The funding will also be used to expand Garuda's team, scale up production, and support other general operational activities.
March 3 — Callio Therapeutics
Series: Series A
Amount: $187 million
Investors: Frazier Life Sciences, Jeito Capital, Novo Holdings, Omega Funds, ClavystBio, Platanus, Norwest, Pureos Bioventures, SEEDS Capital, and EDBI.
Callidus was initiated by Frazier and focuses on a HER2-targeted dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate licensed from Hummingbird Biosciences. The two biotech companies share a CEO and multiple financial backers.
February
February 26 - Eikon Therapeutics
Series: D Round
Amount: $350.7 million
Investors: Lux Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, AME Cloud Ventures, The Column Group, E15 VC, Foresite Capital, General Catalyst, Soros Capital, StepStone Group, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, and the Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California (UC Investments), among others.
This biotech company, which focuses on cancer, is no stranger to stunning funding rounds and will use the Series D financing to fund its multiple clinical trials, including a Phase 3 study for advanced melanoma investigating a Toll-like receptor 7 and 8 agonist immunomodulator.
February 14 — Bambusa Therapeutics
Series: Series A
Amount: Approximately 90 million USD
Investors: RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Redmile Group, Invus, ADAR1 Capital Management, and other unnamed existing investors.
Bamboo Therapeutics has raised approximately $90 million to develop a next-generation bispecific antibody pipeline targeting immunology and inflammation (I&I) diseases. The Boston-based biotech company’s Series A financing follows a $15 million seed round completed in September 2024. The new funds will support lead programs through Phase 1 clinical trials, including the bispecific antibody BBT001, which is currently undergoing clinical testing.
February 13 - Newleos Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 93.5 million US dollars
Investors: Goldman Sachs Alternative Investments, Longwood Fund, Novo Holdings, DCVC Bio, and Arkin Bio Capital.
Newleos Therapeutics Debuts with $93.5 Million Series A Financing to Develop Next-Generation Neuroscience Treatments; Initial Clinical Programs Acquired from Roche, Switzerland
February 12 - Abcuro
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: 200 million USD
Investors: New Enterprise Associates, Foresite Capital, RA Capital Management, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Redmile Group, Samsara BioCapital, Sanofi Ventures, Pontifax, Mass General Brigham Ventures, New Leaf Ventures, Funds managed by abrdn,BlackRockManaged funds and accounts, Eurofarma Ventures, and Soleus Capital.
Supported by SanofiAbcuroCompany Secures $200 Million in Series C Financing to Advance Its Anti-KLRG1 Antibody (Ulviprubart, Also Known as ABC008) Through Phase 2/3 Muscle Disease Trials and Plans Regulatory Submissions. The Concept is That the Antibody Can Deplete Cells Responsible for Autoimmune Diseases Without Affecting Regulatory T Cells and Central Memory T Cells.
February 3 - AdvanCell
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: 112 million US dollars
Investors: SV Health Investors, Sanofi Ventures, Abingworth, SymBiosis, Morningside, Tenmile, Brandon Capital, etc.
Australian radiopharmaceutical company AdvanCell secures $112 million in Series C funding to advance its lead candidate through prostate cancer research. The Pb-212-based radiopharmaceutical (code name ADVC001) is currently in a Phase 1/2 dose-escalation trial targeting metastatic prostate cancer. AdvanCell aims to establish ADVC001 as a leader in the targeted alpha therapy field.
January
January 28 - Atalanta Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series B
Amount: 97 million US dollars
Investors: EQT Life Sciences, Sanofi Ventures, F-Prime Capital, Novartis Venture Fund, RiverVest Venture Partners, funds managed by abrdn, Pictet Alternative Advisors, Mirae Asset Financial Group, and GHR Foundation.
Atalanta Therapeutics, following a $110 million Series A financing round in 2021, has completed an oversubscribed $97 million Series B financing round. The company plans to use these funds to initiate clinical trials for small interfering RNA (siRNA) candidate drugs targeting epilepsy and Huntington's disease. These experimental therapies aim to silence specific genes in the central nervous system.January 28 - Helicore Biopharma
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 65 million US dollars
Investors: Founding investors Versant Ventures, OrbiMed, Longitude Capital, and Wellington Management.
California-based Helicore Biopharma Steps Into the Spotlight, Secures $65 Million Series A for Obesity Pipeline. HCR-188, a monoclonal antibody directly targeting glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), is described by Helicore as "clinical-ready." Additionally, the company has HCR-488, an incretin conjugate, which is planned to enter preclinical studies in the second half of this year as a once-monthly weight loss option.January 22nd — Shenzhen Targeted Drug
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: 50 million US dollars
Investor: Undisclosed
This Sino-American joint venture has committed to using the Series C financing funds for "advancing the overseas clinical development of multiple innovative drugs." Press releaseJanuary 15 — Be Bio
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: 92 million US dollars
Investors: Nextech, ARCH Venture Partners,Atlas Venture、RA Capital Management、Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb, Takeda Ventures, etc.
Be Bio Plans to Use the Funds to Continue Advancing Its Lead B-cell Drug BE-101 in Phase 1/2 Trials for Hemophilia B Patients. The funds will also be used to push another candidate drug, BE-102, into clinical trials for the treatment of a rare bone development disorder known as hypophosphatasia. Press ReleaseJanuary 14 - Umoja Biopharma
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: 100 million USD
Investors: Co-led by Double Point Ventures and DCVC Bio, with participation from ARK Invest, Cormorant Asset Management, MPM Capital, Qiming Venture Partners USA, RTW Investments, Alexandria Venture Investments, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, CaaS Capital, Emerson Collective Investments managed by Yosemite, K2 HealthVentures, Myeloma Investment Fund, University of Minnesota Endowment, and others.
Umoja Biopharma Plans to Use This Funding to Bring More Cell Therapies to Clinical Trials, Including UB-VV400, an Off-the-Shelf, Multi-Domain Fusion Protein Surface-Engineered Lentiviral Vector Designed to Generate CD22-Targeted CAR-T Cells in Patients. The Series C Funding Will Be Used to Initiate Clinical Trials of UB-VV400 in Multiple Oncology and Autoimmunology Studies.January 13 - Normunity
Financing Round: Series B
Amount: 75 million US dollars
Investors: Co-led by Samsara BioCapital and Enavate Sciences, with participation from Regeneron Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, YK Bioventures, Canaan Partners, Sanofi Ventures, Taiho Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, HongShan Capital Group, and Connecticut Innovations.
After completing a $65 million Series A financing in 2022, Normunity has secured an additional $75 million to advance its lead program, NRM-823, a T-cell engager. Normunity plans to initiate Phase 1 trials for NRM-823 in the second half of 2025 and aims to progress other pipeline projects targeting novel tumor-specific immunosuppressive mechanisms.January 13 - Tune Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series B
Amount: 175 million US dollars
Investors: Led by New Enterprise Associates, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures, and Hevolution Foundation.
Funds from Tune Therapeutics' Series B financing will be used to advance its cell and gene therapy pipeline, with the lead product being Tune-401. The company has been working to secure approvals over the past few months to initiate clinical trials for Tune-401 in New Zealand and Hong Kong. This epigenetic silencing drug for chronic hepatitis B is based on Tune's TEMPO epigenetic editing platform, which is delivered to cells via lipid nanoparticles.January 10 - Kardigan
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 300 million US dollars
Investors: Perceptive Advisors, ARCH Venture Partners, and Sequoia Heritage.
Kardigan, co-founded by the former leadership team of MyoKardia, will use the funds to build a pipeline focused on unmet needs in cardiology, including primary and secondary cardiomyopathies that lead to heart failure. The company plans to leverage its discovery platform – combining licensing and acquisitions – to build its portfolio, which currently includes several late-stage drug candidates.January 10 - Windward Bio
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 200 million US dollars
Investors: Led by OrbiMed, Novo Holdings, and Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, with participation from SR One, Omega Funds, RTW Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, Quan Capital, and Pivotal bioVenture Partners.
Emerging Swiss biotech company Windward Bio will use the funds to advance its mission of improving treatment options for advanced immune-mediated diseases and to progress its bispecific drug discovery pipeline. Specifically, the funding aims to advance two undisclosed projects into Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies. Windward is also developing WIN378, a monoclonal antibody in clinical stages, which the company acquired through deals with Kelun-Biotech and Harbour BioMed.January 10 - Ouro Medicines
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 120 million USD
Investors: Co-led by TPG Life Sciences Innovations, NEA, and Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from Monograph Capital, GSK, UPMC Enterprises, Boyu/Zoo Capital, LongRiver Investments, and other unnamed investors.
Ouro Medicines Enters the Increasingly Competitive T Cell Engager (TCE) Field, Aiming to Reset the Immune System of Patients with Chronic Immune Diseases Using T Cells. Concurrent with Series A Financing, a Bispecific TCE Licensed from Chinese Biotech Company Keymed Biosciences, Now Referred to as OM336, Was Acquired. Ouro Plans to Advance OM336 into Clinical Trials This Year for B Cell-Mediated Immune Diseases.January 10 - Numab Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series C Extension
Amount: 50 million Swiss francs (approximately 54.6 million US dollars)
Investors: Cormorant Asset Management, Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund, HBM Healthcare Investment, Novo Holdings, BVF Partners, Octagon Capital Advisors, RTW Investments, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.
Numab Therapeutics, a Swiss biotechnology company, completed the extension of its Series C financing round, raising a total of 180 million Swiss francs (approximately 196 million US dollars) to support its multispecific antibody pipeline in the fields of inflammation and oncology.January 9 - Timberlyne Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 180 million US dollars
Investors: Led by Abingworth, Bain Capital Life Sciences, and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, with participation from Boyu Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, Braidwell LP, and 3H Health Investment.
Timberlyne Therapeutics, launched by U.S.-based biotech incubator Mountainfield Venture Partners and China's Keymed Biosciences, has raised $180 million in Series A financing to advance its clinical-stage CD38-targeting antibody. The company’s efforts will focus on the IgG1 monoclonal antibody CM313, for which Keymed has sold the rights outside mainland China to Timberlyne in exchange for an undisclosed upfront payment, potential milestones, royalties, and equity in Timberlyne.January 9 - Light Horse Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 62 million US dollars
Investors: Versant Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Bristol Myers Squibb, Taiho Ventures, and AbbVie.
Light Horse Therapeutics, founded by Versant Ventures, plans to apply precision gene editing to small-molecule drug discovery, with an initial focus on cancer targets. Light Horse's platform aims to discover new functional sites within key targets that play a critical role in disease biology.January 9 - Leyden Labs
Financing Round: Undisclosed
Amount: 70 million euros (approximately 70 million US dollars)
Investors: Co-led by ClavystBio and Polaris Partners, with participation from Qiming Venture Partners and existing investors.
Dutch biotech firm Leyden Labs plans to use the proceeds from this financing round for its mucosal protection platform, a nasal spray approach designed to fend off respiratory viruses such as influenza and coronaviruses. The funds will specifically be used to conduct human efficacy studies for PanFlu, as well as for platform research and other pipeline activities. Press releaseJanuary 9 - Verdiva Bio
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 410 million US dollars
Investors: Co-led by Forbion and General Atlantic, with participation from RA Capital Management, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and LYFE Capital.
Verdiva Bio has just been established, and its CEO Khurem Farooq toldFierce Biotech, which could be the largest Series A financing round ever for a UK biotech. The company licensed three assets from China's Sciwind Biosciences, including a once-weekly oral GLP-1 agonist, which Verdiva believes will stand out from daily dose medications.January 9 - A2 Biotherapeutics
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: 80 million US dollars
Investors: A consortium of investors including The Column Group and Samsara BioCapital.
Cell therapy expert A2 Biotherapeutics will use the funds to advance its three clinical development programs and its CAR-T cell therapy pipeline based on its Tmod platform technology. The company is currently conducting two Phase 1/2 trials for different cancer indications.January 8 - Tenvie Therapeutics
Financing Round: Undisclosed
Amount: 200 million US dollars
Investors: Arch Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, and Mubadala Capital, with participation from other unnamed investors.
Tenvie Therapeutics Debuts with $200 Million Financing, Aiming to Transform Neuroscience Treatment LandscapeJanuary 8 - Aspect Biosystems
Financing Round: Series B
Amount: 115 million US dollars
Investors: Led by Dimension, with participation from existing and new investors Novo Nordisk, Radical Ventures, an undisclosed global leading investment company, InBC, Pallasite Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Rhino Ventures, and T1D Fund: Breakthrough Type 1 Diabetes Fund.
Aspect Biosystems Plans to Use the Funds to Develop a New Class of Cellular Medicines – Bioprinted Tissue Therapeutics, Focusing on Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases. Part of the Funds Will Also Be Used for the Company’s Full-Stack Tissue Therapeutics Platform, Which Combines AI-Driven Bioprinting Technology, Computational Design Tools, Therapeutic Cells, and Advanced Biomaterials.January 8 - Alesta Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 65 million euros (approximately 67 million US dollars)
Investors: Co-led by Frazier Life Sciences and Droia Ventures, with participation from Novartis Venture Fund, RTW Investments, RV Invest, Thuja Capital, and SSI Strategy.
Dutch biotech Alesta Therapeutics will use the funds to advance its two lead oral small molecule drugs into clinical stages. ALE1 is being developed for the treatment of hypophosphatasia, a rare genetic disorder that causes fragile bones, while ALE2 aims to treat Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary condition leading to progressive muscle weakness, loss of sensation, and limb deformities.January 7 - Aviceda Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: 207.5 million US dollars
Investors: Co-led by Omega Funds and TCGX, with participation from Enavate Sciences, Jeito Capital, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, Longitude Capital, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Marshall Wace, Catalio Capital Management, funds managed by abrdn Inc., and Digitalis Ventures.
Aviceda Therapeutics will use the funds to advance its lead product AVD-104, a vitreous injection glycocalyx nanoparticle currently in a 2b/3 phase trial, being compared with Astellas' approved ophthalmic drug Izervay, for the treatment of thalassemia, a degenerative eye disease. The 12-month data from the study is expected to be released in the second half of 2025, while a phase 2 trial for diabetic macular edema was initiated in September.January 7 - Alebund Pharmaceutical
Financing Round: Series C
Amount: RMB 550 million (approximately USD 75 million)
Investors: Undisclosed healthcare fund, Yangzhou Guojin Investment Group, and Kingray Capital.
New Funding for Chinese Biotech Alebund to Support Development and Potential Commercialization of Renal Disease Pipeline. The financing will support the company's new drug application in China, global pivotal studies of its iron-based phosphate binder AP301, Phase 2 studies of AP306, and further commercial expansion of Roche's Mircera in China.January 7 - XyloCor Therapeutics
Financing Round: Series B
Amount: 67.5 million US dollars
Investors: New investor Jeito Capital and existing institutional investors EQT, Fountain Healthcare Partners, and Lumira Ventures.
XyloCor Therapeutics Completes Series B Financing to Advance Its Mission in Gene Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases. Specifically, the new funds will support a Phase 2b clinical trial of XC001 (encoberminogene rezmadenovec) for the treatment of refractory angina, as well as a second mid-stage study of the candidate drug as an adjunctive therapy for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.January 6 - Orbis Medicines
Financing Round: Series A
Amount: 90 million euros (approximately 93.4 million US dollars)
Investors: New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Eli Lilly, Cormorant, Denmark Export and Investment Fund, as well as founding investors Novo Holdings and Forbion.
Danish Biotech Orbis Completes First Financing Round for Oral Macrocyclic Drug Discovery
