the FDA for approval early next year. Cabozantinib is already approved for certain patients with kidney cancer.
—Interim data from a Phase 2 study of non-small cell lung cancer drug entrecitinib from Ignyta (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RXDX]]) showed improved overall survival in patients who have a particular genetic mutation, boosting the company’s stock price 25 percent. The San Diego biotech went on to raise $125 million in a stock offering.
—Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) is stopping work on Crohn’s disease drug mongersen at the recommendation of a data safety monitoring committee. The Summit, NJ drugmaker hadacquired the drug for $710 million to diversify its portfolio. Celgene said there were no safety issues, and it will wait until reviewing Phase 2 data from an ulcerative colitis study before deciding what to do next with the drug.
DEALS OF THE WEEK
—Gemini Therapeutics emerged from stealth with a $42.5 million Series A round that the Cambridge, MA, company will use to develop gene-based therapies to treat dry age-related macular degeneration.
—Eli Lilly (NYSE: [[ticker:LLY]]) paid CureVac $50 million up front in a partnership to develop up to five new cancer vaccines based on the German company’s messenger RNA technology.
—Vir Biotechnology of San Francisco unveiled $500 million in committed financing and a slate of biotech and university partnerships that it plans to use to develop new treatments for infectious diseases.
—Warp Drive Bio inked a deal with Swiss pharma giant Roche that pays the Boston biotech $87 million up front, and could pay up to $300 million more if the partnership yields new antibiotics.
STARTUPS AND FUNDS
—Illumina Ventures said its first fund has grown to $230 million after launching last year with $100 million from sequencing giant Illumina. Based in San Francisco, it has invested in seven companies to date.
—Stanford University spinout Forty Seven has tacked on $75 million in Series B cash to double its total venture haul. The firm is going after cancer, and as Xconomy reported in 2016, got a $30 million boost from California taxpayers because of its stem-cell work.
—A new system for single-cell genomic analysis is close to commercial launch. South San Francisco, CA-based Mission Bio, a spinout of UCSF, raised $10 million in Series A financing. It plans to bring an acute myeloid leukemia analysis to market this year.
—TARA Biosystems said it has raised a $9 million Series A to bring its “heart on a chip” testing products to market. Xconomy profiled the New York startup in 2014.
—TransEnterix (NYSE MKT: [[ticker:TRXC]]) is preparing to commercialize its Senhance Surgical Robotic System after the FDA cleared the Research Triangle Park, NC, company’s robot for colorectal and gynecological procedures.
—Cydan, an orphan drug accelerator based in Cambridge, raised $34 million to bring more rare disease drugs through preclinical development and potentially spin them out into independent companies.
—Gene therapy developer uniQure (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QURE]]) is switching the hemophilia B treatment it will test in a Phase 3 clinical trial after receiving a go-ahead from regulators. UniQure, split between the Netherlands and Lexington, MA, says the new therapy, nearly identical to the earlier treatment, has modifications that better prevent bleeding.
Alex Lash contributed to this report.
Photo by Depositphotos.
