---
title: California Biotech Funding in June 2019
description: Funding activity in California for June 2019
---

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# [California Biotech Funding in June 2019](https://blog.zymewire.com/post/california-biotech-funding-in-june-2019full-namecompany-name)

 Written by [Sean Cannon](https://blog.zymewire.com/author/sean-cannon) | Oct 15, 2019 4:00:00 AM

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](https://inhibrx.com/)

La Jolla’s clinical stage Inhibrx filed [Form S-1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1739614/000119312519164114/d636583ds1.htm) 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](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inhibrx-announces-40m-investment-from-viking-global-investors-300852897.html) from [Viking Global Investors](https://www.vikingglobal.com/).

**City: **La Jolla

**Website: **[**https://inhibrx.com/**](https://inhibrx.com/)

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **Oncology

**Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: **Yes

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Inhibrx’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/511a6a9f695abe43e30004c6/events)

### [Akero Therapeutics](https://www.akerotx.com/) ($AKRO)

After filing SEC Form S-1 at the end of May, clinical stage Akero announced the [pricing](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/akero-therapeutics-announces-pricing-of-initial-public-offering-300871750.html) for their initial public offering of 6,612,500 common stock shares on June 20th. The [IPO closed](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/akero-therapeutics-announces-closing-of-initial-public-offering-and-exercise-in-full-of-the-underwriters-option-to-purchase-additional-shares-300873728.html) June 24th, with aggregate proceeds totalling $105.8 million ($16.00 per share).

**City: **San Francisco

**Website: **[https://www.akerotx.com/](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!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/5b30d7fef5c3c833cc003c5f/events)

## Collaborations & Royalty Payments

### [Ablexis](https://www.ablexis.com/)

San Diego’s Ablexis LLC announced a [non-exclusive licensing agreement](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005409/en/Ablexis-Announces-Multi-Target-Licensing-Agreement-Zai-Lab/) with [Zai Lab LLC](http://www.zailaboratory.com/) 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/](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!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/511a6a83695abe43e30002da/events)

### [Gilead Sciences](https://www.gilead.com/) ($GILD)

On June 3rd, a [drug discovery partnership](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005445/en/HitGen-Enters-DNA-Encoded-Library-Based-Drug-Discovery/) between Gilead and Chengdu’s [HitGen](http://www.hitgen.com/enxiandao/index.php?s=/Home/Index/index.html)** **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/](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!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/4fb6d30a5825b9112d01b4c4/events)

## Grants

### [Cloudbreak Therapeutics](http://cloudbreaktherapeutics.com/)

Cloudbreak received a [Phase 2 SBIR grant payment](https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9789897) 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](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!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/5a15d0d8f5c3c830a20042ba/events)

### [Vivreon Biosciences](http://www.vivreonbiosciences.com/)

Vivreon received a [Phase 2 SBIR grant payment](https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9776047) 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/](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!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/56574ed0f5c3c85edf000179/events)

## Investment and Other Financing

### [AcelRx Pharmaceuticals ](https://www.acelrx.com/)($ACRX)

Redwood City’s AcelRx Pharmaceuticals [announced the closing](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acelrx-announces-the-closing-of-a-25-million-senior-secured-debt-facility-300860261.html) of $25 million in senior debt financing with [Oxford Finance LLC](https://oxfordfinance.com/) on June 3rd. The fully funded loan will be used for the launch of [DSUVIA](http://www.dsuvia.com/about/emergency-department/), 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](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!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/4fb6d2ea5825b9112d01ac5b/events)

### [Phi Therapeutics](http://www.phitherapeutics.com/)

SEC [Form D records](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1778492/000177849219000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml) 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/](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!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/5600771d10bee170df0000ad/events)

## 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**](https://www.zymewire.com/?utm_source=blog&utm_campaign=Flagged-events-fundingCA&utm_content=June2019) 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!

[View full post](https://blog.zymewire.com/post/california-biotech-funding-in-june-2019full-namecompany-name)

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