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Deals and Financings

Shanghai ImmuneOnco Biopharma out-licensed global rites (ex-China) for two of its antibodies to Instil Bio (TIL) of Dallas, Texas (see story). ImmuneOnco will receive an upfront and near-term payments of $50 million, and up to more than $2 billion in milestones, plus royalties.

Instil will have rights to ImmuneOnco’s proprietary PD-L1xVEGF bispecific antibody, IMM2510, as well as its next-generation anti-CTLA-4 antibody, IMM27M. ImmuneOnco has started a combination trial of the two candidates. Instil, an in-licensing company, has stopped development of its previous assets in recent years. 

Shanghai announced it would invest RMB 100 billion ($14 billion) to support growth in three high tech industries: integrated circuits (IC), biopharmaceuticals, and AI (see story). The money will support innovative companies with the goal of accelerating globally competitive enterprises.

According to Cailianpress, biopharmaceutical companies are slated to receive about $3 billion. The news release did not identify a particular biotech target for the funds. Almost half of the funds, $6.3 billion, will be allotted to the IC industry, focusing on IC design, manufacturing, packaging, etc. The next $3.1 billion will go the AI industry, advancing AI chips, software, autonomous driving, and robotics. 

Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical acquired Jnana Therapeutics, a Boston pharma, for $800 million, plus up to $325 million in milestones (see story). Jnana is developing a novel therapy to treat phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare kidney disease.

Jnana’s JNT-517 is an allosteric small-molecule inhibitor of SLC6A19, a solute carrier that regulates amino acid reabsorption in the kidney. It has completed a Phase Ib/II trial demonstrating its tolerability. Otsuka believes JNT-517 could be a first-in-class oral treatment for PKU. In 2018, Otsuka acquired another Boston company, Visterra, which develops antibody drugs for autoimmune diseases. 

Biocytogen Pharma (Beijing) has granted an option for its B7H3/PTK7 BsADC to Ideaya Biosciences (IDYA) in an agreement worth up to $406 million (see story). Biocytogen believes Ideaya’s DDR small molecules may be a good fit for its ADC candidate, a B7H3/PTK7 topo-I-payload BsADC program with first-in-class potential.

B7H3/PTK7 is co-expressed in multiple solid tumors, including lung, colorectal, and head and neck cancers. Ideaya is a South San Francisco precision medicine oncology company that uses molecular diagnostics to identify patients for its targeted therapeutics.

Sirnaomics, a Suzhou-Maryland siRNA company, has formed a JV, Sagesse Bio, with Gore Range Capital of Dallas to develop Sirnaomics’ RNAi products as aesthetic medicines (see story).

Sirnaomics will receive milestone payments of up to $33 million. It will eventually own a majority stake in Sagesse Bio worth $36 million after Gore Range completes a financing. Initially, Sagesse will start clinical evaluation of its candidate, SGY-101, a new designation of Sirnaomics’ lead siRNA candidate that has already started clinical trials for oncology and fat remodeling. 

LTZ Therapeutics, a Shenzhen-Redwood City, CA immunotherapy biotech, completed a Series A financing of over $20 million (see story). The company is developing Myeloid Engager candidates to enhance the phagocytic function of monocytes and macrophages.

Using reverse translational science and new insights into the tumor microenvironment, LTZ’s novel immunotherapies are expected to overcome resistance and boost anti-tumor immunity. The A round was led by new investor Lapam Capital and includes GL Ventures, also a new investor. K2 Venture Partners and Shunwei Capital also participated. So far, LTZ has raised $50 million since it was founded in 2022.

Shenzhen Synthetica Pioneering closed a Series A round to develop novel living bacterial therapeutics (see story). Founded in 2023, the company specializes in genetic circuit engineering and precise control of genes and payloads to treat various diseases, especially solid tumor cancers.

Synthetica is a spin-off from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences that uses synthetic biology techniques to engineer novel living bacterial therapeutics. The Series A funding was led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Temasek. The funding will be used to fast-track Synthetica's oncolytic bacterial candidates into clinical trials. 

Suzhou Porton Advanced Solutions and Guangzhou Geneseed Biotech agreed to combine their circRNA gene therapy services and improve their offerings to CDMO clients (see story).

Porton Advanced will contribute its end-to-end cell and gene therapy CDMO service platform, while Geneseed will add its core patented technologies in circRNA drug concept validation and process development. The two companies formed the collaboration to accelerate the development of novel circRNA therapies. 

CRO/CDMO

WuXi AppTec (WUXIF), a large China CRDMO, announced flat earnings for the first six months of 2024 despite, as the company said, “external challenges” (see story). The external challenges are the BIOSECURE Act currently being considered by the US Congress, which aims to stop US biopharma companies from using WuXi as a drug development partner.

During the first half of the year, WuXi’s revenues dropped by only 1.2% from the year earlier. Its US customers provided $1.5 billion (62%) of the company’s income, a small decline. 

Trials and Approvals

Yantai Luye Pharma (LYPHF) was approved for a US launch of Erzofri, a once-monthly extended release drug for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (see story). The company said antipsychotic medications can control symptoms of schizophrenia, but patient adherence to antipsychotics is generally poor, creating a window for the once-monthly drug.

Erzofri is the first patented paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection developed in China that is approved in the US. Its patent will expire in 2039. Erzofri was approved as a new drug under the 505(b) (2) pathway in the US.

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