Biotech Finance: Riding the Wave of Resurgence – Big IPOs, Bold Moves, and Regulatory Drama!
The biotech sector is buzzing with excitement as a shift in financing activity captures the industry’s attention. In a week that heralded a remarkable turnaround, investors are showing a renewed appetite for biotech investments after a widespread industry recalibration.
Leading the charge is Generate:Biomedicines, securing a staggering $273 million in the largest biotech Series C financing of the year. What’s more, they’ve attracted heavyweight investors like Amgen and NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, signaling a resounding vote of confidence in their vision.
Not to be outdone, Rome Therapeutics pulled off a financing coup, adding $72 million to their coffers in a Series B extension. Who’s backing them? None other than pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb, taking their total raise to a jaw-dropping $149 million.
But that’s not all! The week ended with a bang as Neumora Therapeutics and RayzeBio stepped into the limelight with their initial public offerings. Together, they’re valued at a colossal $560 million, with RayzeBio raking in $311 million and Neumora netting $250 million, marking two of the biotech world’s biggest IPOs this year. Could this be the renaissance of the IPO market? All signs point to a potential resurgence in the second half of 2023.
Meanwhile, even as some companies are thriving, others are trimming their sails. Bristol Myers Squibb and Moderna made headlines this week with pipeline cuts. BMS bid adieu to a mid-stage drug candidate for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and an anti-TIGIT solid tumor program. Moderna, on the other hand, said goodbye to four programs from its pipeline but set ambitious goals for launching new products and candidates in the coming years.
In the regulatory arena, the FDA’s Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee delivered a pivotal 9-3 vote in favor of Alnylam’s patisiran for transthyretin amyloidosis-induced cardiomyopathy. However, the regulator’s pre-meeting briefing documents raised questions about the clinical significance of patisiran’s effects compared to placebo. The FDA’s final decision is slated for October 8, adding an element of suspense to the mix.
Sandoz, the soon-to-be-spun-off subsidiary of Novartis, is making waves too. Shareholders gave the green light for the spin-off, and Sandoz’s CEO, Richard Saynor, has grand plans to conquer the biosimilars market. With ambitions to surpass Pfizer as the world’s largest producer of biosimilars, Sandoz is also making strategic moves, recently securing commercialization rights for Samsung Bioepis’s Stelara biosimilar.
In a showdown of pharmaceutical giants, AbbVie’s Skyrizi took on J&J’s Stelara in a high-stakes Phase III Crohn’s disease study. With clinical remission as the prize, Skyrizi not only matched but showed signs of superiority against Stelara, continuing its impressive clinical winning streak. The battle of the titans rages on in the world of biotech, promising more excitement on the horizon!