Venture Funding Deals: $65m For Iterum's Antibiotic; Genoa's IPF Drug Nets $62m
• By Deanna Kamienski, Beth Allan, and Maureen Riordan
Generate a summary of this article
Listen to this article
Iterum Therapeutics and Genoa Pharmaceuticals topped the list of biopharmaceutical start-up firms closing new venture capital rounds in May with $65m and $62m, respectively, to advance drug candidates for bacterial infections and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Derived from Strategic Transactions, Informa’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Venture Funding Deals column provides a comprehensive monthly review of emerging biopharmaceutical companies that have received venture funding. This month’s column covers deals announced in May 2017.
[Sidebar#SC098732]
Keep up with the top pharma business news of the week. On the go.
Merck’s immuno-oncology blockbuster was the world’s best-selling drugs by revenues for the second year in a row, with an almost $12bn lead over its closest rival, Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 drug Ozempic.
The German group is spinning off from Eckert & Ziegler and listing in Frankfurt, though a leap to the NASDAQ will likely follow once it has more data on a lymphoma theranostic.
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.
With $150m in series A funding, the Versant- and Novartis-backed start-up is betting it can overcome the challenges to getting RNA medicines into the kidney.
Companies stand a better chance of securing public reimbursement in Mexico for innovative medicines if they understand changing approaches to healthcare. The shift means the emergence of managed entry agreements and a focus on economic impact, explains AMIIF, Mexico's research-based pharmaceutical industry association.
Novartis’s APMA chief outlines the company’s tailored approach to deliver long-term outcomes, novel access solutions via innovative financing options and shape the CVD disease ecosystem in the extraordinarily diverse region. Partnering to build AI infrastructure is another key prong.
A court order encompassing funding, drug pricing, clinical trials and overall policy implementation aspects is expected to bring about a paradigm shift in the treatment of rare diseases in India. Sarepta, Roche and Sanofi are among the key players that have been part of pricing discussions.