SciLeads
SciLeads

BioPharma Updates 1st September, 2025

BioPharma Updates, September 1st, 2025.

SciLeads’ BioPharma is updated daily, giving our clients the most current insights on biopharma organizations, including Funding, Initial Public Offerings, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnerships, and more. This week’s updates are below, with links to the organizations in the platform. If you don’t have BioPharma yet, start your free trial today.

Download this update:

View BioPharma updates as a PDF.
View BioPharma updates in an Excel (.XLS) format.

Funding

  • ProVerum (Dublin, Ireland) raised $80M in Series B funding to advance commercialization of its ProVee® System, a minimally invasive treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). 
  • Plexium (CA, USA) raised $60.1 M in funding to advance its protein degrader pipeline, including further development of PLX-4545 and PLX-61639 for oncology indications. 
  • Vaxxas (Brisbane, Australia) raised ~$59M in Series D funding and debt funding to scale up manufacturing and advance commercialization of its high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) technology for needle-free vaccine delivery.
  • Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals (CA, USA) received a $49.2M National Institute on Aging grant to support a Phase 2 clinical trial of its lysine-gingipain inhibitor LHP588 in Alzheimer’s disease patients with confirmed P. gingivalis infection.
  • Leal Therapeutics (MA, USA) raised $30M in Series A funding to advance LTX-002 for ALS and LTX-001 for schizophrenia into clinical development. 
  • Osivax (Lyon, France) received $19.5M in BARDA funding to advance development of OVX836, its broad-spectrum influenza A vaccine candidate designed to provide long-lasting protection against circulating and emerging strains. 
  • Incyclix Bio (NC, USA) raised $11.25M in Series B extension funding to support its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of INX-315 in patients with CDK4/6 inhibitor–resistant ER+/HER2- breast cancer or CCNE1-amplified solid tumors. 
  • EnsiliTech (Bristol, United Kingdom) raised $5.9M in Seed funding to scale its Ensilication technology, which stabilises vaccines and biologics at room temperature and eliminates the need for cold-chain storage.
  • Baxiva (Schlieren, Switzerland) received $3M from CARB-X to advance development of its multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine targeting E. coli infections.
  • Avasa (Auckland, New Zealand) raised $2.9M in pre-Series A funding to advance FDA clearance and prepare market launch of the Avasa Coupler, a device designed to simplify and standardize arterial reconnections in reconstructive microsurgery. 
  • Marginum (Kuopio, Finland) raised $2.7M in Pre-Series A funding to advance FDA clearance and international launch of its HIVEN® fluorescence-based tissue monitoring device for safer brain tumour surgery.
  • Rhovica Neuroimaging (Bern, Switzerland) raised ~$2.6M in funding to advance development of SoNav™, its bedside navigation system for extraventricular drainage (EVD) catheters used in emergency neurosurgery.  
  • BriaCell Therapeutics (PA, USA) received a $2.05M National Cancer Institute grant to complete manufacturing of Bria-PROS+ and support a Phase 1/2a trial in metastatic prostate cancer.
  • Minovia Therapeutics (Haifa, Israel) received a $350K grant to develop novel blood-based mitochondrial biomarkers to identify patients for its mitochondrial augmentation technology and enable follow-up after treatment. 

Emerging

  • Arnatar Therapeutics (CA, USA) emerged from stealth with $52M in Series A funding to develop RNA-based therapies, including ART4 for Alagille Syndrome, which has received FDA Orphan Drug and Rare Pediatric Disease designations. 
  • Reconnect Labs (Zurich, Switzerland) emerged from stealth with ~$24M in equity and non-dilutive funding to advance its AI- and neuroscience-driven pipeline of regenerative therapies for psychiatric disorders including PTSD, addiction, and anxiety. 
  • Therna Biosciences (CA, USA) emerged from stealth with $10M in seed funding to pioneer programmable RNA medicines using deep RNA biology and generative AI to enhance translation efficiency, tissue specificity, durability, and immune evasion. 
  • Lumaegis (TX, USA) raised $200K in pre-seed funding to advance FDA De Novo certification and prepare for market launch of its RadBox sterilization device, a solid-state lighting-based alternative to traditional sterilizers. 
  • Alovance (Tel Aviv, Israel) emerged from stealth to launch a novel drug delivery system for hair loss designed to improve penetration, stability, and scalability in topical therapeutics. 

Post IPO Equity

  • Wugen (MO, USA) announced the closing of a $115M equity financing to advance the pivotal T-RRex trial of its off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy WU-CART-007 in relapsed/refractory T-ALL and T-LBL, with a BLA filing targeted for 2027.
  • iBio, Inc. (CA, USA) announced the closing of a $50M underwritten public offering to advance preclinical cardiometabolic programs and support general corporate purposes.
  • OmniAb, Inc. (CA, USA) raised $30M in a private placement to fund general corporate purposes, including working capital and operations, while advancing its antibody discovery technology platform.
  • CEL-SCI (VA, USA) announced pricing of a $10M best-efforts public offering of common stock to fund the continued development of Multikine, general corporate purposes, and working capital.
  • Femasys (GA, USA) announced pricing of an $8M public offering to support commercial expansion, product development, working capital, and general corporate purposes.
  • Moleculin Biotech, Inc. (TX, USA) raised $6M through the immediate exercise of outstanding warrants to support working capital and general corporate purposes.
  • TREOS Bio (London, United Kingdom) raised $2.1M to advance its lead cancer immunotherapy program.

Post IPO debt

  • QT Imaging (CA, USA) raised $5M through a restated and amended senior secured term loan with Lynrock Lake to repurchase and cancel 15M outstanding warrants previously held by Yorkville.
  • Spectral Medical Inc. (Toronto, Canada) raised $3M through a Tranche B advance under its senior secured promissory note with Vantive US Healthcare to support regulatory and commercialization preparations for Toraymyxin™ (PMX) and general working capital needs.
  • Defence Therapeutics (Vancouver, Canada) announced a non-brokered private placement of convertible debenture units for ~$1.2M to support corporate development.

Mergers and Acquisitions

  • BeOne Medicines (MA, USA) to acquire IMDELLTRA royalty rights for up to $950M to strengthen its oncology portfolio from Royalty Pharma (NY, USA).
  • AbbVie (IL, USA) to acquire Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals (NY, USA) for $345M to expand its psychiatry pipeline with Bretisilocin, a novel investigational therapy for major depressive disorder.
  • Medical Manufacturing Technologies (NC, USA) to acquire Innova Design (CA, USA) to expand its bonding capabilities.
  • Terumo (Tokyo, Japan) to acquire OrganOx (Oxford, United Kingdom) to enter the organ transplantation-related sector.
  • MannKind Corporation (CA, USA) to acquire scPharmaceuticals (MA, USA) to accelerate revenue growth and expand leadership in cardiometabolic and lung diseases.
  • Northwest Biotherapeutics (MD, USA) to acquire Advent BioServices (Sawston, United Kingdom) to strengthen its cell therapy manufacturing capabilities.
  • SGD Pharma (France) to acquire Alphial (Treviglio, Italy).  The deal will expand SGD Pharma’s footprint in molded and tubular glass packaging for the pharmaceutical industry.

Partnerships

  • BioArctic (Stockholm, Sweden) and Novartis (Basel, Switzerland) announced an ~$802M option, collaboration, and license agreement to combine BioArctic’s BrainTransporter technology with a Novartis antibody for neurodegeneration.
  • Replicate Bioscience, Inc. (CA, USA) and Novo Nordisk (Denmark) announced a ~$550M multi-year research collaboration to develop novel srRNA-based therapies for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other cardiometabolic diseases, with Replicate eligible for research funding, milestones, and tiered royalties.
  • Lineage Cell Therapeutics (CA, USA) and William Demant Invest (Denmark) announced a research collaboration and investment of up to $12M to advance Lineage’s auditory neuronal cell transplant program, ReSonance (ANP1), for the treatment of hearing loss.
  • Immuneering Corporation (MA, USA) and Eli Lilly and Company (IN, USA) announced a clinical supply agreement to evaluate atebimetinib in combination with Lilly’s KRAS G12C inhibitor olomorasib in a planned Phase 2 trial for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
  • CVCO Therapeutics (NY, USA) and Karolinska University Hospital (Solna, Sweden) announced a research collaboration to launch a Phase 2 trial of a once-daily oral sGC stimulator in type 2 diabetes patients with microvascular complications, aiming to improve myocardial microvascular blood flow and cardiac outcomes.
  • Verasonics (WA, USA) and ImFusion GmbH (Munich, Germany) announced a collaboration to integrate Verasonics’ Vantage® NXT Research Ultrasound Systems with ImFusion’s software for real-time image reconstruction, 2D/3D visualization, and AI-powered workflows to accelerate next-generation imaging solutions.
  • CAGE Bio Inc. (CA, USA) and Mayo Clinic (MN, USA) announced a collaboration to develop novel ionic liquid–based therapies for cutaneous graft-versus-host disease, aiming to address significant unmet needs in managing this debilitating condition.
  • Profusa (CA, USA) announced a commercial and clinical collaboration with the Medical University of Graz (Austria) to adopt and integrate the Lumee™ Oxygen platform in vascular procedures and clinical study programs.
  • Veeva Systems (CA, USA) and Amgen (CA, USA) announced a collaboration to deploy the Veeva Clinical Platform across trial operations to streamline processes, accelerate clinical development, and support the delivery of new medicines to patients.
  • TREOS Bio (London, United Kingdom) announced clinical collaborations with Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin (Berlin, Germany) and Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co Ltd (Shanghai, China) to launch the OBERTO-202 Phase II trial evaluating PolyPEPI1018 with toripalimab and standard of care in MSS colorectal cancer.

Initial Public Offering (IPO)

  • Curanex Pharmaceuticals (NY, USA) announced the closing of its $15M initial public offering to fund development of Phyto-N for ulcerative colitis, complete FDA-required studies, prepare an IND submission, and support working capital needs.

Registered Direct Offering (RDO)

  • Cognition Therapeutics (NY, USA) announced pricing of a $30M registered direct offering of common stock to two new institutional investors to fund Phase 3 preparations for zervimesine in neurodegenerative disorders, as well as working capital and general corporate purposes.

Closures and Layoffs

  • CNS Pharmaceuticals (TX, USA) to lay off employees as part of Phase 3 funding struggles and attempts to pursue an IPO.
  • Appia Bio (CA, USA) have announced they will close after funding ran dry before reaching the clinic.
  • Pfizer (NY, USA) to lay off 100 employees at the former Seagen headquarters in the Seattle, WA area as part of restructuring.
  • Indivior (VA, USA) to lay off employees as part of a multi-year restructuring plan while weighing a divestiture of Opvee.
  • Exelixis (CA, USA) to lay off 130 employees and shut down its Pennsylvania site due to post-pandemic downsizing.

Is there anything else you’d love to see here or have added to the platform? Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your feedback.