California Biotech Funding in June 2019

Welcome to the newest instalment of Flagged Events: Funding segment. We’ll cover a sample of the drug companies with funding announcements in the previous month across different global markets. These include IPO announcements, grants, royalty payments, investments, and more. 

Here are some of the pharma/biotech companies headquartered in California that announced funding activity:

Public Offerings

Inhibrx

La Jolla’s clinical stage Inhibrx filed Form S-1 for a planned public offering in the USA. The pricing and date have yet to be announced. The announcement comes after the May closing of a $40 million investment from Viking Global Investors.

City: La Jolla

Website: https://inhibrx.com/

Primary Therapeutic Area: Oncology

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: Yes

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Akero Therapeutics ($AKRO)

After filing SEC Form S-1 at the end of May, clinical stage Akero announced the pricing for their initial public offering of 6,612,500 common stock shares on June 20th. The IPO closed June 24th, with aggregate proceeds totalling $105.8 million ($16.00 per share).

City: San Francisco

Website: https://www.akerotx.com/

Primary Therapeutic Area: Liver Disease

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: No

Have a Zymewire account? Click here to view Akero’s global activity!

Collaborations & Royalty Payments

Ablexis

San Diego’s Ablexis LLC announced a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Zai Lab LLC for the use of Ablexis’ AlivaMab Mouse platform for antibody drug discovery and development. Ablexis licenses the platform to many of the major pharmaceutical companies, and also offer licensing to smaller biotechs.

City: San Diego

Website: https://www.ablexis.com/

Primary Therapeutic Area: CNS

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: No

Have a Zymewire account? Click here to view Ablexis’ global activity!

Gilead Sciences ($GILD)

On June 3rd, a drug discovery partnership between Gilead and Chengdu’s HitGen was announced. The terms of the deal include an undisclosed upfront payment to HitGen, as well as milestone payments. The use of HitGen’s DNA-encoded chemical library platform will aid in the development of small molecule candidates in Gilead’s primary target areas.

City: Foster City

Website: https://www.gilead.com/

Primary Therapeutic Area: Infectious Disease

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: Yes

Have a Zymewire account? Click here to view Gilead’s global activity!

Grants

Cloudbreak Therapeutics

Cloudbreak received a Phase 2 SBIR grant payment of $809 052 from the National Eye Institute for the safety and pharmacokinetics evaluation of their CBT-001 candidate in the treatment of Pterygium.

City: Irvine

Website: http://cloudbreaktherapeutics.com

Primary Therapeutic Area: Ophthalmology

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: No

Have a Zymewire account? Click here to view Cloudbreak’s global activity!

Vivreon Biosciences

Vivreon received a Phase 2 SBIR grant payment of $1.25 million from the National Institute on Aging. The funds will be used for lead optimization of their Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel inhibitors for treatment of Alzheimers.

City: San Diego

Website: http://www.vivreonbiosciences.com/

Primary Therapeutic Area: Chronic Inflammatory Indications

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: Yes

Have a Zymewire account? Click here to view Vivreon’s global activity!

Investment and Other Financing

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals ($ACRX)

Redwood City’s AcelRx Pharmaceuticals announced the closing of $25 million in senior debt financing with Oxford Finance LLC on June 3rd. The fully funded loan will be used for the launch of DSUVIA, AcelRx’s recently approved (November 2018) sublingual sufentanil analgesic for severe acute pain. It will also be used for other credit facility repayment.

City: Redwood City

Website: https://www.acelrx.com/index.php

Primary Therapeutic Area: Pain Symptoms

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: No

Have a Zymewire account? Click here to view AcelRx’s global activity!

Phi Therapeutics

SEC Form D records indicate the receipt of $575 000 in equity financing towards a $1.58 million offer. The financing was received between May 24th and June 4th.

City: San Francisco

Website: http://www.phitherapeutics.com/

Primary Therapeutic Area: Dermatology

Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: No

Have a Zymewire account? Click here to view Phi’s global activity!

Get the whole picture

If you’d like to track funding activities across the regions that matter to you, all without relying on a database, Zymewire is here to help. Put your prospecting and sales research on autopilot so that you can quickly identify and prioritize new opportunities. Reach out today, and stay tuned for the next instalment of Flagged Events: Funding. If you enjoy these articles, please feel free to give them a share through the social links below!