Good morning. Here is my BioBusiness update for the week with the top ten headlines I found.
My BioBusiness updates focus on fund raises, mergers, collaborations, IPOs, and key appointments across biotech, pharma, and medical devices.
Let me know if I’ve missed any important pieces of news. Have a great weekend.
🔔 Merck has become the latest biopharma to swell its oncology pipeline with further antibody-drug conjugate potential this week, signing up Texas’ Caris Life Sciences for a multiyear collaboration
🔔 Diagonal Therapeutics is taking shape, launching with $128 million and backed by the likes of BVF Partners, Atlas Venture and RA Capital to develop a pipeline of antibody agonists. Diagonal is led by CEO Alex Lugovskoy, and the funding will pay for at least a proof-of-concept study for the HHT programme
đź”” Oruka Therapeutics is jumping onto the biotech stage with a bang, going public via a reverse merger and tacking on $275 million through a private placement. Oruka is the third spin out from Paragon Therapeutics.
🔔 Genmab is mounting a $1.8 billion challenge against its close collaborator AbbVie. The Danish biotech is using the money to buy ProfoundBio and gain control of a mid-phase antibody-drug conjugate that could compete against AbbVie’s Elahere.
🔔 Asensus Surgical is weighing an offer to be acquired by Karl Storz following “an extensive period” of evaluating strategic alternatives for the future of the laparoscopic robot maker.
🔔 3M has finished carving out its healthcare business, formally establishing Solventum as an independent, St. Paul, Minnesota-based manufacturer of a medtech catalog that brought in $8.2 billion in 2023 sales.
đź”” Forbion, the European life sciences venture capital firm from The Netherlands, announced its participation in oversubscribed Series B financing in Capstan Therapeutics Inc. and Engrail Therapeutics. Both companies are located in San Diego, USA.
🔔 Cultivated meat producer Innocent Meat GmbH has cashed in €3m in funding from Venture Capital Fonds MV and an anonymous business angel. The three-year-old startup announced it will use the new proceeds to optimise components of its automated plug-and-produce solution for mass production of stem cell-based meat and fat.
đź”” Stevanato Group appoints Ugo Gay as Chief Operations Officer. Strengthening corporate leadership aims to drive operational efficiencies and standardization of global processes.
đź”” EnteroBiotix, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focussed on developing best-in-class full-spectrum microbiome therapeutics, announced that the Company has completed its ÂŁ27m ($34m USD) funding round, supported by new and existing investors.
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