Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) said today that it pledged up to $52 million to Purdue University as part of a 5-year research agreement. The deal is Purdue’s largest strategic collaboration with a single company, according to the university. The group is slated to focus on improving the delivery of injectable medications with the goals of reducing pain and […]
Funding Roundup
Diasome lands $30m to fund clinical trials of liver-targeted insulin
Diasome Pharmaceuticals said today that it inked a funding deal that could bring the company up to $30 million. The round was led by Medicxi and contributed to by JDRF T1D Fund, Black Beret Life Sciences and McDonald Partners. The Cleveland-based company said it plans to use the funds to support the clinical development of […]
LipoSeuticals closes Series A for novel drug delivery tech
LipoSeuticals said today that it closed a financing round for an undisclosed amount led by Hong Kong-based life sciences fund, Delos Capital. The company has developed a sugar-lipid polymer-based formulation, Sulocence, which boosts drug stability and solubility. LipoSeuticals said it is applying the drug delivery technology to the reformulation of an array of marketed specialty […]
Synspira raises $8m for inhaled pulmonary therapies
Privately-held Synspira said today that raised $8 million from an unnamed private investor to bring its inhaled cystic fibrosis therapy into a Phase I safety study. The Boston-based company was founded earlier this year and is focused on developing inhaled therapies for pulmonary diseases, including cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia. Synspira holds […]
MetaStat lands $7m for personalized cancer diagnostic, therapy tech
MetaStat (OTC:MTST) said this week that it closed the 1st tranche of a $7 million private placement. The round, which was led by Perceptive Advisors, is slated to bring in approximately $2.1 million, according to the Boston-based company. The private placement consisted of an aggregate of 690,816 shares of common stock and 196,216 shares of […]
Mersana Therapeutics prices $75m IPO
Cambridge-based startup Mersana Therapeutics said today that it raised $75 million in an initial public offering. The company sold 5 million shares of common stock at $15 apiece. Mersana, which debuted on the Nasdaq exchange listed under “MRSN”, also gave underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to 750,000 more shares at $15 per share. […]
Sigilon Therapeutics launches with encapsulated cell therapy tech
Backed with $23.5 million from Flagship Pioneering, Sigilon Therapeutics launched today with a plan to leverage its biocompatible Afibromer technology with engineered cells to treat hematologic, enzyme deficiency and endocrine disorders. Sigilon’s Afibromer platform represents a new class of implantable biomaterials that don’t trigger fibrosis, the company said. Encapsulated cell therapies have failed in the […]
Rubius snags $120m for red blood cell therapeutics
Rubius Therapeutics, a biotech engineering red blood cells as drug carriers, said today that it raised $120 million in an oversubscribed private financing round. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company plans to use its newly-acquired funds to support its Red-Cell Therapeutics portfolio and prepare for human clinical trials in 2018. “With this financing, Rubius is well positioned […]
Reva closes $35m financing round
Reva Medical (ASX:RVA) said today that it closed the 2nd tranche of its $34.6 million financing round. The company issued $47.1 million convertible notes, 2,119,500 options for the purchase of common stock and repurchased $12.5 million of its common stock from 1 unnamed investor. The San Diego, Calif.-based company’s 1st commercial product is its Fantom sirolimus-eluting […]
Gamida Cell lands $40m for late-stage NiCord trial
Gamida Cell said today that it raised $40 million to support the ongoing Phase III trial of its NiCord cell graft and expand its in-house manufacturing capacity. The private financing was led by new investor Shavit Capital. VMS Investment Group and Israel Biotech Fund joined existing investor Novartis in the round, as well as Clal Biotechnology […]