---
title: Massachusetts Biotech Funding in July 2019
description: Funding activity in Massachusetts for July 2019
image: https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/5d1e49950663cd2ade1cd6be_2-Jun-22-2021-06-03-42-52-PM.png
---

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# Massachusetts Biotech Funding in July 2019

##### October 15, 2019 | Sean Cannon | Industry Articles

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 Massachusetts that announced funding activity:

## Public Offerings

### [Morphic Therapeutic](http://morphictx.com/) ($MORF)

On July 1, Morphic announced the [closing of their initial public offering](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190701005806/en/Morphic-Announces-Closing-Initial-Public-Offering-Full/) (Symbol MORF) of 6.9 million common stock shares at $15 per share, totalling $103.5 million.

**City: **Waltham

**Website:** [http://morphictx.com/](http://morphictx.com/)

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **Oncology

**Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: **No

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Morphic’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/57751a1ff5c3c83c450001ec/events)

[‍](https://www.zymewire.com/company/57751a1ff5c3c83c450001ec/events)

### [Karuna Therapeutics Inc.](https://karunatx.com/) ($KRTX)

On July 2, Karuna also announced the [closure of their initial public offering](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190702005561/en/Karuna-Therapeutics-Announces-Closing-Initial-Public-Offering/), totalling $102.6 million in gross proceeds for 6,414,842 common stock shares at $16 per share. The shares began trading under the KRTX symbol.

**City: **Boston

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

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **CNS

**Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: **No

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Karuna’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/5ca1f467f5c3c829b8000385/events)

‍

## Collaborations & Royalty Payments

### [Skyhawk Therapeutics](https://www.skyhawktx.com/)

On July 8, Waltham’s Skyhawk Therapeutics [announced a collaboration agreement](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skyhawk-therapeutics-announces-collaboration-agreement-with-merck-to-discover-and-develop-novel-small-molecules-that-modulate-rna-splicing-300880507.html) with [Merck & Co.](https://www.merck.com/index.html) ($MRK) for the development and commercialization of RNA - binding small molecule candidates that modulate RNA splicing for neurodegenerative and oncologic indications. Exclusive worldwide licensing will be available to Merck, through the use of a subsidiary. Skyhawk will receive an upfront payment for an undisclosed amount, and dependent on Merck’s exercising of option to exclusive licensing, they will also receive potential milestone payments and royalties.

On July 16, [a similar agreement was announced](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skyhawk-therapeutics-announces-agreement-with-genentech-to-discover-and-develop-small-molecule-rna-splicing-modifiers-for-oncology-and-neurodegenerative-diseases-300885335.html) between Skyhawk and [Genentech](https://www.gene.com/). Skyhawk will receive an unknown upfront payment, as well as future payments and royalties, while Genentech receives the exclusive worldwide license.

**City: **Waltham

**Website: **[https://www.skyhawktx.com/](https://www.skyhawktx.com/)

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **Oncology

**Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: **No

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Skyhawk’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/5a676067f5c3c8796200053f/events)

### [Frequency Therapeutics](https://www.frequencytx.com/index.php)

On July 17, Frequency announced an [exclusive licensing agreement](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190717005168/en/Astellas-Frequency-Therapeutics-Enter-License-Agreement-FX-322/) with [Astellas Pharma](https://www.astellas.com/) ($TSE: 4503) for the development and commercialization of [FX-322](https://www.frequencytx.com/news-events/news-events-press-release-04-09-2019.php), Frequency’s candidate for sensorineural hearing loss. The upfront payment for Frequency is $80 million, with future royalties as well as up to $545 million in milestone payments.

**City: **Woburn

**Website: **[https://www.frequencytx.com/](https://www.frequencytx.com/)

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **Audiology

**Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: **No

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Frequency’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/586e2d56f5c3c82fec015cc8/events)

## Grants

### [Akston Biosciences](https://www.akstonbio.com/)

Akston received a [Phase 2 SBIR grant payment](https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9847198) from the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease for the development of AKS-107, their subcutaneous Type 1 Diabetes candidate for the prevention or delay of diabetes in high risk pre-diabetic patients.

**City: **Beverly

**Website: **[https://www.akstonbio.com/](https://www.akstonbio.com/)

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **Metabolic and Endocrine

**Preclinical Activity in the past 12 months: **No

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Akston’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/5600770910bee170df00003f?event_id=5d28f4fd0a088c0680000044)

### [Spero Therapeutics](https://sperotherapeutics.com/) ($SPRO)

Spero received a [$5.9 million award](http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/07/16/1883294/0/en/Spero-Therapeutics-Announces-5-9-Million-Award-from-U-S-Department-of-Defense-to-Further-Clinical-Development-of-SPR206.html) from the [United States Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs](https://cdmrp.army.mil/) to further the development of [SPR206](https://sperotherapeutics.com/pipeline/), Spero’s intravenous Potentiator Platform for the treatment of MDR Gram-Negative infections in hospitals. The award will be used for a series of pharmacology, toxicology, and microbiological surveillance across the 4 years of non-dilutive funding.

**City: **Cambridge

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

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **Infectious Diseases

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

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Spero’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/53453398f5c3c80d0500034b/events)

## Investment and Other Financing

### [Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals](https://www.kiniksa.com/) ($KNSA)

SEC [Form D records](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1730430/000156761919014672/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml) indicate the receipt of $1.53 million in equity financing between April 4 and July 11.

**City: **Lexington

**Website: **[https://www.kiniksa.com](https://www.kiniksa.com/contact-us/)

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **Dermatology

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

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Kiniksa’s global activity!](https://www.zymewire.com/company/57fe30a4f5c3c86c91001af9/events)

[‍](https://www.zymewire.com/company/57fe30a4f5c3c86c91001af9/events)

### [Lucy Therapeutics](https://www.lucytherapeutics.com/)

SEC Form D records indicate the receipt of $2.91 million in equity financing between June 28 and July 15, towards a total offering of $3.5 million.

**City: **Lexington

**Website: **[https://www.lucytherapeutics.com/](https://www.lucytherapeutics.com/)

**Primary Therapeutic Area: **CNS

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

**Have a Zymewire account?** [Click here to view Lucy’s global activity!](https://www.lucytherapeutics.com/)

## 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-fundingMA&utm_content=July2019) 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!

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