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Investors are falling in with these biotech companies, dropping dollars to fuel their work for the latest advancement in life sciences. Here's the scoop. ACELYRIN Just shy of a year from its Series A launch, startup ACELYRIN pulled off a $250 million Series B this week. Alongside its raise, ACELYRIN also licensed a promising interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor from Swiss biotech Affibody AB. The LA-based company scored worldwide rights to the drug, izokibep, except for in select Asian and Nordic countries. Izokibep is already enrolling in a pivotal trial for uveitis, a damaging inflammation in the eye, and a Phase IIb study for a chronic form of arthritis affecting the spine. Next up will be a IIb trial for hidradenitis suppurativa. The Series B funds will be used for licensing and acquisition of additional immunology programs, in addition to the development of izokibep. Geneoscopy Gastro-focused Geneoscopy scooped up $105 million through a Series B financing round. The company’s focus is on diagnostic testing for colorectal cancer screening, allowing for earlier detection of not only cancer cells but also pre-cancerous polyps that have potential to become cancerous. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., with over 50,000 deaths annually. With an ongoing 10,000 patient trial to back it, Geneoscopy is excited to enlist its multifactor RNA screening test to join the fight against colorectal cancer. While colonoscopies remain the gold standard screening, many patients avoid it due to the discomfort of the prep. Geneoscopy’s test hopes to offer in-home, noninvasive collection testing options, opening the door to greater patient participation. The test has already been granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the FDA. Acrivon Therapeutics Only five months after launching, Acrivon landed a $100 million oversubscribed Series B round to develop its cancer asset rescued from the Eli Lilly scrap pile. Now labeled ACR-358, the candidate is a potent, selective inhibitor of CHK1 and CHK2 which has shown durable activity in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and squamous cell cancers. In over 1,000 trial patients, ACR-368 has proven itself safe and has shown “excellent pharmacokinetic and pharmacological properties.” Proceeds will also be used to expand the company’s Predictive Precision Proteomics platform to drive development of diagnostics that link drug mechanisms to the active disease-driving processes of cancer in patients. Vaxxinity This Dallas-based biotech had its debut on the market last week, coming in a bit lower than anticipated. Selling 6 million shares at $13 per share, as opposed to the 7 million priced at $14-16, Vaxxinity roped in $76 million with its IPO. Working on vaccines to treat and prevent chronic disease, its lead compound is targeting beta-amyloid to prevent Alzheimer’s. A Phase IIb trial is anticipated next year. Another candidate in the works is a B- and T-cell activating shot that attacks SARS-CoV-2. Other targets for the pipeline include Parkinson’s, migraine, high cholesterol and infectious diseases. Recludix Pharma Rocketing off with $60 million in hand, Recludix launched this week to develop programs for cancer and inflammatory disease targets. Two of the programs will target the STAT protein family, an “elusive targets for drug discovery” according to CEO Nancy Whiting. Recludix’s most advanced programs focus on STAT3 and STAT6, where abnormal activation is found in various cancer types, as well as multiple inflammatory diseases. Whiting believes the team’s SH2 domain inhibiting approach will be more selectively inhibiting, bringing better tolerated results to the JAK/STAT targeting approaches. Shasqi Developing precision cancer drugs with click chemistry, San Francisco’s Shasqi has a fresh $50 million from its Series B round. The funds have been earmarked for expanding its platform and fueling the company’s lead candidate. SQ3370 is advancing to Phase I/II clinical study for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. While the current candidate requires injecting directly into the tumor, Shasqi is developing therapeutics that do not require injections to be placed in the tumor. Genenta Jumping from Milan to Wall Street, Genenta penciled its name in for a modest $35 million IPO. The biotech plans to dedicate $25.3 million of that to finalize its current Temferon study and begin a Phase II round. Funding will also go into manufacturing activities, ongoing business development, and operating costs. Genenta will grace the ticker board with the symbol “GNTA.”

A new biotech going after STAT mutations through a previously undruggable target emerged from stealth and secured its first fundraise Monday, introducing its freshly minted CEO in the process. Recludix Pharma, a San Diego biotech launched by a founding team of Blueprint Medicines vets, pulled in a $60 million Series A on Monday, promising investors a path to the holy grail STAT3 mutation through what’s called the SH2 domain. Taking over as chief executive is Nancy Whiting, arriving after a 15-year run at Seagen that saw her run corporate strategy and late-stage development at various points. Investors in the round included NEA, Westlake Village BioPartners, and Access Industries. Recludix’s founders had worked together before Blueprint, but came together to develop the biotech’s “kinome scan” technology and apply it to drug discovery, Whiting told Endpoints News . Led by Blueprint scientific founder Nick Lydon, the group thought it could use a similar technology while integrating a new selectivity tool and encoded DNA libraries, allowing for much deeper analyses. Whiting said the process is an iterative design, allowing the biotech to decide where and how exactly to modify different molecules. The team can screen anywhere from one million to one billion molecules at once, she said. Thus Recludix was birthed, initially getting off the ground in December 2019. The company’s main focus is developing SH2 domain inhibitors, found in a group of about 120 different human proteins. Researchers have previously pegged the domain as a “really good target to drug,” Whiting said, but faced some challenges along the way. “It’s kind of a flat protein, there’s not a lot of nooks and crannies for a drug to find inside and hook into,” Whiting said in an interview. Chief among the proteins implicated by SH2 is the STAT family, which includes the STAT3 cancer mutation long considered a holy grail target — Whiting said 70% of all cancers have that STAT3 mutation. But Recludix will also spend time looking at other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases where STAT might prove important, she stressed. Recludix is launching with three discovery programs, two of which are planned to target STAT3 and STAT6. The third candidate will be developed for a non-STAT target, but Whiting isn’t revealing much more at this point. While she noted the STAT candidates are in the lead optimization phase, they’re not quite ready for INDs. The CEO also said the Series A likely won’t be enough to get the programs into the clinic and that Recludix isn’t disclosing how much runway this raise will give. Initially, though, the goal will be developing orally available compounds for these tough-to-treat diseases. Recludix’s plan is to start in later-line patients whose cancers have progressed on the standard of care, but it’s still too early to make any sweeping conclusions. Though it’s tackling STAT through SH2, Recludix will join a slate of biotechs trying to solve the holy grail puzzle. The Houston startup Tvardi nabbed a $74 million Series B back in June to advance its STAT3 efforts, and the Sanofi-partnered Kymera and Medicxi’s Janpix, now part of Centessa, are undertaking similar projects.

With $60 million in hand, Recludix Pharma launches with a mission to develop Three SH2 domain inhibitor programs targeting STAT3, STAT6, and an undisclosed non-STAT target for cancer and inflammatory disease targets. Based in San Diego, Recludix was founded by a team that played a role in establishing Blueprint Medicines, including Nicholas Lyndon, who serves as chairman of the startup board of directors. Recludix is helmed by Nancy Whiting, who was recognized in 2020 for her leadership skills and business acumen after spending 15 years at Seagen, formerly known as Seattle Genetics. While at Seagen, Whiting held positions of increasing responsibility and played a key role in the development of cancer drugs Adcetris, Padceb, Tukysa and Tivdak. Pointing at Recludix's pipeline assets, Whiting said the STAT family "have remained elusive as targets for drug discovery" despite playing a well-characterized role in disease signaling. The startup's most advanced programs are focused on Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) proteins -- STAT3 and STAT6 -- where abnormal activation is found in various cancer types, including multiple leukemias and lymphomas as well as inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, and inflammatory bowel disease, "We believe Recludix's platform will be a key differentiating factor leading to the successful development of treatments for these important targets," Whiting said in a statement. "Our lead programs are targeting STAT3 and STAT6 through the novel mechanism of inhibition of their SH2 domains. With our proprietary technology, we believe we will be uniquely able to selectively and potently inhibit these important targets, resulting in more effective and better tolerated agents compared to the existing, less selective JAK/STAT targeting approaches." In addition to Whiting, Recludix's leadership team includes Patrick Zarrinkar, a company co-founder and president and chief scientific officer. Zarrinkar is a pharma veteran who co-led the development of the KINOMEscan kinase profiling platform and a founding member of Blueprint Medicines. Daniel Treiber, a company co-founder, serves as vice president of discovery technology; and Brian Hodous, also a company co-founder, serves as vice president of chemistry at Recludix. Recludix's $60 million in funding was supported by NEA, Westlake Village BioPartners and Access Biotechnology. Recludix isn't the only new company to burst onto the scene today. Twist Bioscience spun out Revelar Biotherapeutics, an independently operated company focused on antibody discovery and development. The new company will focus on the antibody initially discovered by Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist Bioscience. In preclinical studies, the antibody has demonstrated success against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In addition to that asset, Revelar will be eligible to license additional antibodies from its parent company for up to five targets over the next four years. CEO Glenn Marina will helm Revelar. Other members of the executive team include Kevin Malobisky, who will serve as chief regulatory and quality officer; Laurence Smith, chief financial officer and general counsel; and Rodrigo Mesquita, vice president of operations and project management. Twist Bioscience committed up to $10 million in seed funding for the new company. That financing will be based on Revelar's progress in the development of the COVID-19 antibody and the potential licensing of additional antibody therapeutics from Twist Biopharma.