BioPharma Updates, August 25th, 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.
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Funding
- Kriya Therapeutics (NC, USA) raised $313.3M in funding to advance its pipeline of single-dose gene therapies, including candidates for geographic atrophy, trigeminal neuralgia, type 1 diabetes, and other chronic diseases.
- Anocca (Södertälje, Sweden) raised $46M in funding to advance VIDAR-1, its gene-edited TCR-T cell therapy for KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer, through early clinical development and to expand its preclinical pipeline.
- Iantrek (NY, USA) raised $42M in Series C funding to launch its AlloFlo Uveo surgical solution for glaucoma in the U.S. and advance its broader pipeline of bio-interventional ophthalmic products.
- Sensorium Therapeutics (MA, USA) raised $25M in funding to support a Phase I trial of its plant-derived therapy for anxiety.
- Method AI (MA, USA) raised $20M in Series A funding to advance its AI-powered 3D surgical ultrasound platform for improving tumor visualization and outcomes in oncology surgeries.
- Belhaven Biopharma (NC, USA) raised $10M in oversubscribed Series A funding to advance clinical development and manufacturing of Nasdepi®, its dry powder nasal epinephrine therapy for anaphylaxis, through NDA submission and toward commercial launch.
- KROMATID (CO, USA) raised $8M in Series C funding to expand its genomic structural analysis platforms, scale operations, and support partnerships in cell and gene therapy.
- Molecular You (Vancouver, Canada) raised $5M in Series A funding to expand its predictive health platform, grow its customer base across North America, and advance development of its next-generation multi-omic assay.
- Myosin Therapeutics (FL, USA) received a $4.5M NCI SBIR Phase IIB Bridge Award grant to support its Phase I STAR-GBM trial of MT-125, a first-in-class small molecule therapy for newly diagnosed MGMT unmethylated glioblastoma.
- Trethera (CA, USA) received a $3M NIH SBIR grant to advance development of TRE-515, a first-in-class therapy targeting deoxycytidine kinase for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.
- CorriXR Therapeutics (DE, USA) received a $1M grant from the State of Delaware to advance its lead program developing gene-editing therapies for solid tumors, with a focus on head and neck and lung cancers.
Emerging
- Ategenos Pharmaceuticals (MA, USA) emerged from stealth to launch its SmartPatch™ platform, a connected transdermal drug delivery system designed to improve medication adherence through sustained-release therapy and real-time monitoring.
Post IPO Equity
- Sana Biotechnology (WA, USA) announced closing of an $86.3M public offering of common stock to support its engineered cell therapy programs.
- Invivyd (MA, USA) raised $50M in a public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants to advance its VYD2311 clinical program, pipeline R&D, Long COVID studies, and for general corporate purposes.
- Immuneering Corporation (MA, USA) raised ~$25M in a private placement of common stock to support development of its Deep Cyclic Inhibitor atebimetinib in pancreatic cancer.
- Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CA, USA) raised $20M in a PIPE financing from an investor, contingent on its pending business combination with Denali Capital Acquisition Corp, to advance a Phase 3 trial of SP-102 for sciatica.
- PharmaCyte Biotech (NV, USA) raised $7M through a private placement to strengthen its balance sheet and pursue strategic alternatives.
- Calidi Biotherapeutics (CA, USA) raised $6.9M in an underwritten public offering to advance its Redtail oncolytic virotherapy platform.
- NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (CA, USA) raised $6M from private investor David E. Lazar, who invested $3.85M in the first closing and was appointed CEO to fund strategic acquisitions and avoid liquidation.
Post IPO debt
- Novavax (MD, USA) raised $225M through a convertible senior notes offering, including ~$175M exchanged for existing 2027 notes and ~$50M in new capital, extending debt maturity to 2031.
- Evolent Health (VA, USA) raised $140M through convertible senior notes due 2031 offering to repurchase a portion of its 2025 notes, buy back Class A common stock, and for additional debt repayment.
- Tevogen Bio (NJ, USA) raised $50M through a $36M line of credit and a $14M contingent private placement to advance development of TVGN-489, its lead ExacTcell™ T cell therapy candidate, and strengthen its IP portfolio.
Mergers and Acquisitions
- XOMA Royalty (CA, USA) through its wholly owned subsidiary XRA 5 Corp to acquire Mural Oncology (MA, USA) for between $2.035 and $2.24 per share in cash.
- Kite Pharma (CA, USA) to acquire Interius BioTherapeutics (PA, USA) to advance its in vivo platform. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Kite’s cell therapy pipeline and accelerate development of in vivo approaches for cancer treatment.
Partnerships
- Skyhawk Therapeutics (MA, USA) and Merck KGaA (Germany) announced a ~$2B strategic collaboration and option agreement to discover RNA-targeting small molecules for neurological diseases, with Merck obtaining exclusive global rights to drug candidates upon option exercise.
- VantAI (NY, USA) and Halda Therapeutics (CT, USA) announced a ~$1B strategic collaboration to leverage VantAI’s AI platforms for identifying target-effector pairs to advance Halda’s bifunctional small-molecule RIPTAC drugs for cancer and immune-mediated diseases.
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Dublin, Ireland) and Saniona (Glostrup, Denmark) announced a ~$1B global license agreement granting Jazz exclusive worldwide rights to SAN2355, a preclinical selective Kv7.2/Kv7.3 activator for epilepsy.
- Avixgen (Seoul, South Korea) announced a ~$360M licensing agreement with an undisclosed U.S. biotech granting limited exclusive rights to its ACP (Advanced Cell Penetrating Peptide) drug delivery platform for use in the partner’s own drug candidates.
- RemeGen (Yantai, China) and Santen Pharmaceutical (Osaka, Japan) announced a ~$244M exclusive licensing deal for RC28-E, a dual VEGF/FGF fusion protein in Phase III trials for wet AMD and diabetic macular edema.
- Jiangsu Vcare Pharmatech (Nanjing, China) and Huadong Medicine (China) announced a ~$32M exclusive commercialization partnership for VC005, a second-generation JAK1 inhibitor in Phase III trials for atopic dermatitis.
- RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (NC, USA) received $1.1M in milestone, royalty, and other payments from its ex-U.S. partner following the first international commercial launch of Talicia®, the only FDA-approved rifabutin-based H. pylori therapy.
- Echosens (Paris, France) and Novo Nordisk (Denmark) expanded their strategic partnership following FDA approval of Wegovy (semaglutide) for MASH, with FibroScan positioned as the key non-invasive diagnostic to identify and monitor patients.
- Atropos Health (CA, USA) and Novartis (Switzerland) announced a strategic collaboration to develop and deploy AI models for earlier diagnosis of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), aiming to reduce delays from symptom onset to testing, diagnosis, and treatment.
- The Lubrizol Corporation (OH, USA) and Arihant Innochem Private Ltd (Mumbai, India) announced an expansion of their partnership to include nutraceutical ingredients, strengthening Lubrizol’s health and wellness presence in the Indian market.
- Zomedica (MI, USA) and VerticalVet (NC, USA) announced a strategic partnership making Zomedica’s veterinary solutions—including shock wave therapy, tPEMF devices, remote monitoring, and bleeding control—available to over 2,600 independent veterinary practices nationwide.
- BioMed X Institute (Germany) and Novo Nordisk (Denmark) announced a research collaboration to develop novel oral peptide formulation technologies that enable prolonged intestinal retention and improved bioavailability of therapeutic peptides.
- Access to Advanced Health Institute (WA, USA) and Quratis (South Korea) announced a strategic manufacturing partnership to scale AAHI’s vaccine pipeline, including candidates for tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and other global health threats.
- PathAI (MA, USA) and Moffitt Cancer Center (FL, USA) announced a multi-year strategic collaboration to deploy AISight® Dx, a digital pathology platform, across Moffitt’s programs to enhance cancer detection, precision medicine, and research.
Closures and Layoffs
- Bausch Health (Laval, Canada) to lay off 49 employees and close Petaluma, CA, USA location.
- CSL (Melbourne, Australia) to lay off 1,800 employees for R&D cost cuts and will spin out its vaccine unit.
- Catalent (NJ, USA) to lay off 350 employees for change in demand from a large customer.
- Opthea (Melbourne, Australia) to lay off more than 80% of employees after discontinuing two Phase III studies.
- Arena Bioworks (MA, USA) to lay off employees for the second time this year as it pulls back on cell and gene therapy work to focus on small molecules and biologics.
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