Tag: investment
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Biotechs to Develop Antibody Therapies, Explore Merger
8 January 2016. Two biotechnology companies in Vancouver agreed to collaborate on developing antibody treatments for cancer, with an option to merge their enterprises later on. The deal calls for Zymeworks Inc. to make an undisclosed equity investment in Kairos Therapeutics Inc. Zymeworks is also receiving $US 61.5 million in its first venture funding round.…
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Rodin, Biogen Partner on Neurological Epigenetics
6 January 2016. The biotechnology company Rodin Therapeutics is collaborating with Biogen, another biotech enterprise, in developing treatments based on epigenetics for neurological disorders. The agreement includes a $17.3 million equity investment in Rodin by Biogen and venture investor Atlas Venture, with an option for Biogen to acquire Rodin that provides further payments valued as…
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Biotech, Bayer Partner on Gene-Editing Treatments
21 December 2015. CRISPR Therapeutics and the drug company Bayer AG are forming a joint venture to develop gene-editing therapies for three types of genetic diseases, and later for other human and agricultural applications. The deal calls for Bayer AG, in Leverkusen, Germany, to invest at least $300 million in the joint venture and take…
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Galapagos Licensing Inflammation Drug in $2.1B Deal
17 December 2015. A biotechnology company is licensing its small molecule drug for treating inflammatory disorders to the biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences in a deal valued at nearly $2.1 billion. The agreement includes Gilead Sciences taking an ownership stake in Galapagos NV, based in Mechelin, Belgium. The deal involves the small-molecule, or low molecular weight,…
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Spin-Off Developing Gene Therapies for Blood Disorders
11 December 2015. A new spin-off company from University College London in the U.K. is developing gene therapies to treat hemophilia and related diseases. The company, Freeline Therapeutics, is raising £25 million ($US 38 million) in its first venture funding round. Freeline Therapeutics is founded and commercializing research by UCL hematology professor Amit Nathwani, who…
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Biotech to Explore Gut-Brain Connections, Raises $44M
10 December 2015. A new biotechnology start-up plans to derive medical and consumer products from interactions between the human gut and brain. Kallyope Inc. in New York City is founded by biomedical researchers at Columbia University and raising $44 million its first venture funding round. Kallyope is designing a technology that harnesses communication pathways between…
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Governments, Private Investors Unveil Clean Energy Plans
30 November 2015. Two separate but related initiatives from governments and private investors were unveiled today to boost investment in clean energy innovations for reducing the threat of climate change. Statements announcing the initiatives, expected to double global government spending on clean energy innovation to $20 billion, were made to coincide with the opening of…
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Gene Therapy Company Raises $70 Million in IPO
11 November 2015. Voyager Therapeutics, a company less that two years old developing gene therapies for central nervous system disorders is raising $70 million in its initial public stock offering. The Cambridge, Massachusetts enterprise, trading on the Nasdaq exchange (symbol: VYGR), offered 5 million shares yesterday at $14.00. Shares closed today at $17.75, a gain…
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Gene Editing Licensed for Inherited Disease Treatments
26 October 2015. A Boston biotechnology company is licensing gene-editing technologies from a nearby start-up to design treatments for cystic fibrosis and inherited blood disorders, including sickle cell disease. Vertex Pharmaceuticals, in Boston, received rights to techniques known as CRISPR-Cas9 in a deal that could bring CRISPR Therapeutics, founded in April 2014, as much as…
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Immunotherapy Start-Up Gains $102M in Venture Funds
20 October 2015. A new enterprise founded by researchers in the U.S. and Europe that aims to provide personalized cancer therapies harnessing the immune system raised $102 million in its first round of venture financing. The company Gritstone Oncology — in San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts — says it plans to focus initially on developing…