Dashi Pharmaceutical (Guangdong) Co., Ltd.

For the second month in a row, it appears Forbion and RA Capital are the main backers behind a new biotech formed around an investigational drug in-licensed from China. Solstice Oncology was forced out of stealth last month when its partner Harbour BioMed disclosed it had out-licensed an anti-CTLA-4 medicine to the startup. At the time, Solstice was characterized as receiving backing from “major venture capital investors.” Now, a regulatory filing this week hints at a nine-figure fundraising haul for the Boston-based startup. The filing indicates Solstice has gotten $121 million so far from eight investors in an up to $298 million fundraise. The money will likely support development of the clinical-stage cancer drug and pay for part of the licensing deal. The February pact carried with it a $50 million upfront cash payment from Solstice to Harbour, a global biotech with hubs in China, the US and the Netherlands. It’s in the Netherlands where Solstice appears to have found one of its key investors. The biotech’s board includes Morgan Haller, a principal at investment firm Forbion. The Dutch group is one of the leading biotech investors in Europe and has done multiple similar newco deals. The filing also reveals an executive and two board members associated with RA Capital. That includes Solstice chief medical officer and RA venture partner David Feltquate, managing director Emily Minkow, and partner Andrew Levin. Last month, Forbion and RA Capital, along with Foresite Capital, backed Slate Medicines ’ $130 million megaround to take a migraine drug forward from Guangdong-based DartsBio. Solstice’s filing also lists Canaan general partner Julie Grant as a board member. Spokespeople for RA, Forbion and Canaan declined to comment or didn’t provide comment. Solstice gained the ex-China rights to a monoclonal antibody called porustobart, or HBM4003. The anti-CTLA-4 medicine has been tested as a single agent in a Phase 1 study, Harbour said on its website. Harbour has previously said it plans to test porustobart for melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumors. The most famous anti-CTLA-4 is Bristol Myers Squibb’s immunotherapy Yervoy. Solstice’s CEO is Caroline Loew, the former CEO of Mural Oncology. Mural stopped development of its IL-2 drug last year and was bought by XOMA Royalty. As part of the deal with Solstice, Harbour also gets a $50 million equity interest in the startup and the chance to secure up to $1.1 billion in biobucks. Harbour has also done deals with AstraZeneca , Bristol Myers and others.

The latest in a parade of China-sourced startups will join the race to develop a new class of migraine drugs. On Tuesday, Slate Medicines announced that it had raised a $130 million Series A round, and has the non-China rights to a drug candidate from Guangdong-based DartsBio that is scheduled to enter Phase 1 this year. The round was led by RA Capital, Forbion and Foresite Capital, which have taken part in other, similar deals recently in which a new Western company is founded around an asset or pipeline from China-based drug developers. Slate’s deal marks the third China-to-West licensing deal in two days . Raleigh, NC-based Slate declined to disclose financial details of the deal with DartsBio. DartsBio, founded in 2017, has worked on clinical-stage medicines for pain and cancer-related complications. It’s also forged deals with other drugmakers, such as DualityBio . In the Slate deal, DartsBio will hand over the ex-China rights to a monoclonal antibody that targets pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptides, or PACAPs. The asset, renamed SLTE-1009, is expected to start Phase 1 testing outside of China around the middle of this year. The class had a key win in mid-stage testing earlier this month, when Lundbeck said its drug bocunebart beat placebo at reducing the number of monthly migraine days. The Danish drugmaker’s candidate is slated to enter Phase 3 later this year. Currently, the migraine prevention space is dominated by CGRP inhibitors like Nurtec ODT, Vyepti and Ajovy. Lundbeck’s EVP of R&D Johan Luthman has said the PACAP approach could go after a “broader spectrum of migraine biology.” Haywire signaling for PACAP can drive pain sensation, neurogenic inflammation and instigate migraines. Slate aims to differentiate from Lundbeck with a longer-lasting candidate that can be delivered subcutaneously at home. Slate’s chief medical officer Roger Cady was previously VP of neurology at Lundbeck. Leading the biotech is CEO Gregory Oakes, who helmed Landos Biopharma during its $137.5 million upfront deal with AbbVie in 2024. COO Neil Buckley is working alongside Oakes and Cady. Buckley and Oakes were both venture partners at RA Capital’s healthcare incubator called Raven.