Argenx is stopping its Phase 3 UNITY trial of efgartigimod in Sjögren’s disease after an interim analysis showed the study could not meet its primary endpoint. Shares fell about 18% in Euronext Brussels trading following the announcement, overshadowing positive Phase 2 results for its recently acquired celiac disease drug FB102.
Paris-based Rivercell has raised $25 million (about €22 million) in seed funding to generate experimental data and build AI models that predict how human cells respond to drugs and genetic changes.
Exclusive European data from BIO-Europe’s inaugural C-suite survey, shared with European Biotechnology, shows a sector expecting better funding conditions while struggling with investor caution. Among 69 executives at European-headquartered companies, 84% identify investor risk aversion as biotech investment’s biggest constraint, even as 70% expect their company’s access to capital to improve over the next year.
Dutch life sciences investor Forbion has raised €2.3 billion across two new funds to finance about 30 biotech companies, setting a fundraising record for the firm.
Oxford-based Sensible Biotechnologies has secured a $47 million (€42 million) financing package to scale a platform that makes mRNA in living cells, targeting manufacturing costs and unwanted immune activation that can limit its use in treatments beyond vaccines.
Dutch biotech RougeTx has launched with a $58 million (€52 million) series A to take its lead drug RTX-001 toward first-in-human testing in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The round was co-led by BioGeneration Ventures, Angelini Ventures and Kurma Partners, with the European Investment Bank (EIB) participating through Angelini’s Aurea co-investment vehicle.
Genmab and AbbVie’s bispecific antibody epcoritamab, added to R-CHOP chemoimmunotherapy, cut the risk of progression or death by 51% in a Phase 3 trial in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
AI has transformed drug discovery, but the “AI biotech” label has become increasingly misleading. Kurma Partners proposes an investment framework that distinguishes three fundamentally different models — each building a different asset, creating value in a different way and requiring a different investment lens.
France’s WhiteLab Genomics has raised $26 million (€23 million) in Series B financing to expand experimental validation of its AI-designed gene delivery technologies and build a portfolio of assets it can own and license.
If you ask founders what determines whether they raise capital, most will give you the same answer: great science, compelling clinical data, a large market opportunity and a sensible valuation. For a long time, I would have given exactly the same answer, but I no longer do. After years of working with biotechnology companies, I have come to believe that those factors determine whether a company deserves investment, but they do not necessarily determine whether it gets the opportunity to be evaluated in the first place. Here’s why.