EuroBiotech Report—Achilles raises $100M, MGB round, Genfit CEO change and AstraZeneca

Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly EuroBiotech Report. We start this week in the U.K., where Achilles Therapeutics raised £100 million to take two personalized T-cell therapies to clinical proof of concept in solid tumor patients. Fellow British biotech MGB Biopharma raised a far smaller sum, topping up its bank balance to secure its financial future beyond an upcoming antibiotic readout. Elsewhere, Genfit unveiled plans to replace its founding CEO, and AstraZeneca began working with Schrödinger. And more. — Nick Taylor
 
1. Achilles raises £100M for personalized T cell solid tumor trials

Achilles Therapeutics has raised a £100 million ($120 million) series B round. The financing sets Achilles up to run human proof-of-concept studies of its personalized T-cell therapies in two types of solid tumors.
 
2. MGB tops up cash pool to wrap up antibiotic phase 2a
 

MGB Biopharma has raised money to finish a phase 2a trial of its lead antibiotic MGB-BP-3 in people with Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. The small financing positions MGB to generate clinical data and prepare for the next steps in development of the Gram-positive antibiotic. 

3. As Genfit hopes to get its liver drug on the market, founding CEO makes way for new blood

As Genfit hopes for phase 3 trial successes and future filings for its liver disease drug, its long-term CEO and co-founder Jean-François Mouney is stepping aside and promoting his executive vice president of marketing and commercial development to the top job.

 
4. AstraZeneca to adopt Schrödinger's molecule-modeling platform for drug discovery

AstraZeneca has begun working with Schrödinger to incorporate its machine learning and molecule-modeling platform within its drug discovery work soon after the computing company received a preclinical milestone payment through its collaboration with Sanofi.
 
And more articles of note>>