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Deals and Financings

Regor Pharma, a Shanghai-Boston biotech, sold global rights to Genentech for two early-stage CDK inhibitors (CDKIs) aimed at breast cancer (see story). Regor will receive $850 million upfront, a hefty amount for two Phase I candidates.

The company will also be eligible for an undisclosed amount of milestone payments, both developmental and commercial. Roche (RHHBY), Genentech’s parent, said the novel candidates add new targets to its stable of three existing breast cancer drugs (plus a fourth candidate up for FDA approval). 

Kailera Therapeutics launched with a four-drug pipeline aimed at the very crowded target of obesity (see story). The company was formed by four US venture capital companies who funded the startup in a $400 million Series A round.

In May, Jiangsu Hengrui announced a $6 billion deal, heavily backloaded, with Kailera, then known as Hercules. Hengrui also received a 19.9% share of Kailera as part of the deal. Kailera, with facilities in the Boston area and San Diego, now has an experienced biopharma CEO, a Board of Directors, and a portfolio of Hengrui’s obesity candidates. 

Caliway Biopharmaceuticals IPO’d on the Taiwan Exchange (TWSE-6919) to support its portfolio of medical aesthetic and inflammatory disease candidates (see story). The listing, which valued the company at nearly $3 billion, raised $206 million.

It is a record for the largest IPO of a biopharma company in Taiwan’s history. Caliway is ready to start Phase III trials of its lead product, CBL-514, an injection that induces adipocyte apoptosis to reduce subcutaneous fat in targeted areas. 

Flagship Pioneering, a Cambridge, MA company, and Singapore’s A*STAR formed a collaboration to back new Singapore-based health and sustainability companies (see story). In a MOU, the two companies agreed to contribute a total of $77 million over five years, with the goal of creating new companies in Singapore.

Flagship, a combination of startup and venture capitalist, forms its own companies with its own capital. The process starts with a “farfetched” question that sometimes becomes a company if the concept seems viable. Flagship supports the young company initially, but expects other VCs to fund later development. 

Hong Kong’s GenEditBio received a “strategic investment” from AEF Greater Bay Area Fund, which is managed by Gobi Partners GBA (see story). Although the size of the venture capital funding was not disclosed, the three-year-old company doesn’t appear to have any trouble raising money.

Earlier this year, it closed a $90 million round and didn’t publicize the milestone. GenEditBio plans to offer affordable "precision DNA surgery" for genetic diseases, replacing life-long therapies with a one-and-done gene therapy.

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