Topic:
Venture Capital
Latest Headlines
Latest Headlines
Merck KGaA gives corporate venture fund a €60M boost
Merck KGaA signaled Thursday that it will make a bigger commitment to investing in emerging biotech companies.
Amgen, Novartis aim to fuel biotech startups in alliances with Atlas Venture
For Amgen and Novartis, investing in the latest fund from Atlas Venture wasn't enough. The Cambridge, MA-based venture firm has struck separate agreements with the two major drugmakers to join forces on biotech startups.
UPDATED: Billionaires back Kite Pharma in $20M raise for cancer immunotherapies
Los Angeles-based biotech startup Kite Pharma has locked in $20 million in a private placement with its new investor Alta Partners and previous backers. By converting $15 million in previous promissory notes to stock, the company has increased the first-round financing to $35 million.
Tokai lands $35M venture round for triple-threat prostate cancer drug
Just a few weeks after bidding farewell to its longtime CEO, Cambridge, MA-based Tokai Pharmaceuticals has rounded up $35.5 million in Series E cash to push into an expanded mid-stage study of its triple-threat treatment for prostate cancer.
UPDATED: Third Rock Ventures expands roster with Alnylam's CEO and Genzyme/Sanofi vet
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals CEO John Maraganore has joined Third Rock in the advisory role of venture partner, reunited in a way with his former Millennium Pharmaceuticals colleagues who launched the venture firm 6 years ago.
Biotech VC firm Frazier Healthcare closes in on $300M fund
Frazier Healthcare has grabbed commitments of $281.8 million toward a targeted $300 million for the venture firm's seventh fund, according to an SEC filing. The firm seeks to raise half as much as the $600 million it secured for its previous fund launched in 2008, yet the crew at Frazier have done well enough to survive a serious drought fundraising for VC outfits.
Trevena lands $430M Forest deal, $60M venture round as heart drug heads to PhIIb
With its lead drug poised to begin a Phase IIb study for acute heart failure, Trevena grabbed a $30 million investment from Forest Laboratories, which also picked up an option to snag global rights to the biotech's lead therapy with a deal that includes a $430 million potential payout.
Startup biotech charges into PhII with $23M bankroll for rare disease drugs
A little more than a year ago, the startup crew at Lumena Pharmaceuticals was based in North Carolina and working on a new drug for diabetics. But things have changed. The company moved to San Diego, refocused its lead program on a rare liver disease and today announced that it had rounded up $23 million in Series A cash from a trio of venture groups.
NGM raises $13M for cardio/metabolic R&D work
The company, which includes Genentech legend Art Levinson on its board, has been engaged in basic scientific research for the past 5 years, with a special focus on cardio/metabolic work.
Astellas, VCs stake virtual biotech spinout with $15M and a PhII program
Astellas and a pair of venture companies have joined forces to launch a spinout virtual biotech which will pick up mid-stage research work on an experimental therapy for nocturia.
