Money on the Move: ReCode, MiroBio & More Target Technology

This week, investors weren't risking new investments or launching new companies. Instead, money went towards more advanced rounds of financing for drugs and technology that have already shown a lot of promise, such as a dyslipidemia drug, a gene therapy platform with selective organ targeting and an epilepsy drug with a unique delivery system.

ReCode Therapeutics Scores $200M for Gene Therapeutics

Biotech company ReCode Therapeutics has obtained a total of  $200 million in an oversubscribed Series B extension round of financing.

The California-based company says the funds will be used to “expand and diversify platform and pipeline to include mRNA and gene correction therapeutics for central nervous system, lung, liver and oncology indications.”

New investors, Leaps by Bayer and AyurMaya were the lead financers with participation from Amgen Ventures. Existing Investors, including Pfizer Ventures, EcoR1 Capital and Sanofi Ventures also participated in the financing.

MiroBio Raises $97 Million for Autoimmune Diseases

UK-based MiroBio closed a Series B round of financing with $97 million (£80 million).

The Funds will primarily be used for clinical trials of the company’s two lead antibody candidates, MB272 and MB151, to obtain safety and efficacy data in patients with autoimmune diseases.  Additional funding will be channeled into MiroBio’s pre-clinical pipeline for its proprietary I-ReSToRE (REceptor Selection and Targeting to Reinstate immune Equilibrium) discovery platform.

The financing was led by Medicxi with participation from new investors, OrbiMed and Monograph Capital, as well as Oxford Science Enterprises, Samsara BioCapital, SR One and Advent Life Sciences.

EOM Pharmaceuticals + Immunocellular Therapeutics = Novel Immunomodulatory Therapies

EOM Pharmaceuticals, a privately held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, and ImmunoCellular Therapeutics are merging. ImmunoCellular will be renamed EOM Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. Together, the companies will focus on advancing novel immunomodulatory and retinal disease drug agents to address a range of inflammatory, viral, retinal, and other diseases.

"After an extensive review of strategic options for ImmunoCellular, we are pleased to announce the merger with EOM," Gary S. Titus, chairman of the board at ImmunoCellular said. "We believe EOM's focus on advancing novel immunomodulatory and retinal disease agents addressing unmet medical needs, as well as its experienced management team and board of directors, represent a potentially meaningful opportunity for stockholders in the newly combined company to realize long-term value.”

Centerline Raises $33M for Endovascular Medtech

In a Series B equity financing, Cleveland-based Centerline Biomedical raised $33 million. The company said in its press release the money will be used for “new surgical applications, accelerate its commercial sales and add to its growing clinical evidence repository.”

"Our technology is already yielding excellent clinical benefits and this funding will help realize our mission of improving the outcomes, radiation safety and accuracy in endovascular surgery," Philip D. Rackliffe, Centerline’s CEO said. "Successfully raising this capital given the challenging global environment is a resounding testament to this technology and incredible team at Centerline.”

The financing was led by Cleveland Clinic with participation by GE Healthcare, RIK Enterprises, JobsOhio, Jumpstart Ventures and G2 Group Ventures.

NewAmsterdam Pharma and the Menarini Group Team Up for European Sales

Clinical-stage company NewAmsterdam Pharma and the Menarini Group, an Italy-based, privately held, international pharmaceutical company, announced an exclusive license agreement to commercialize obicetrapib in Europe. Obicetrapib is NewAmsterdam’s LDL-lowering adjunct to maximally tolerated statin therapy in patients with dyslipidemia.

Under the collaboration agreement, Menarini will pay NewAmsterdam an upfront payment of €115 million, €27.5 million in committed R&D funding and up to €863 million in potential milestones. In addition, Menarini will pay NewAmsterdam tiered double-digit percentage royalties from the teens to mid-twenties on net sales of obicetrapib in Europe. The collaboration also expands Menarini's existing cardiology portfolio of 18 products.

Cerebral Therapeutics Scoops Up $40M for Epilepsy Drug

Colorado-based Cerebral Therapeutics closed a Series C funding, led by Lynx1 Capital Management, worth $40 million.

With the cash, Cerebral aims to “complete an international Phase II double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of its proprietary investigational drug (CT-010) for the treatment of uncontrolled seizures in patients with medically refractory epilepsy,” the company said in a news release.

RA Capital Management, Perceptive Advisors, Vivo Capital LLC, and Granite Point Capital Management L.P. also participated in the financing.