Cytospire Therapeutics has raised a £61 million (€71 million) Series A round, positioning the British biotech to advance pan-gamma-delta T-cell engagers (TCEs) into cancer clinical trials.
Belgian biopharma UCB has moved quickly from testing the waters in autoimmune T-cell engagers to making one of the largest bets yet on the modality, agreeing to acquire San Diego-based Candid Therapeutics for up to US$2.2bn.
Planet Volumes via Unsplash+Can in‑space manufacturing help cancer patients take complex medicines at home? For a technology that aims to do just that, UK‑based BioOrbit has just raised £9.8m (around €11.3m) – the “world’s largest” seed round of for in‑space manufacturing.
ValnevaValneva SE, the French specialty‑vaccine developer, has completed an €84m reserved offering, adding a useful cash buffer just as the group enters a high‑risk window for its Lyme disease and shigellosis‑vaccine candidates.
ServierWith the launch of Servier Ventures announced in January and a €200 million commitment to biotech investment, Servier is stepping up its engagement in early-stage innovation in oncology and neurology. European Biotechnology Magazine spoke with Alexis Vandier, Global Head of Servier Ventures, about the fund’s strategy, investment focus, and Europe’s role in the global biotech ecosystem.
Paris Bilal via Unsplash+Italian pharma group Chiesi has struck a near‑US$1.9bn deal to acquire KalVista Pharmaceuticals, bringing the US biotech’s first‑in‑class oral treatment for hereditary angioedema into its rare‑disease portfolio.
A. C. via Unsplash+Belgian Coultreon Biopharma has raised US$125m in a big‑pharma‑backed Series A round to push its first‑in‑class SIK3 inhibitor into Phase II after an ongoing Phase I programme in autoimmune disease
Pic by masakazu sasaki via UnsplashPan-European private‑equity firm Astorg has agreed to acquire Thermo Fisher Scientific’s global microbiology business for about US$1.08bn, carving it out into a standalone platform focused on antimicrobial susceptibility testing and microbiology diagnostics. The investment is being made through Astorg VIII, the firm’s latest flagship buy‑out fund.
Andrej Lišakov / Unsplash+CureVac has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Moderna of patent infringement over its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax. The German biotech claims that Moderna used its proprietary methods for stabilising messenger RNA without authorisation and is seeking monetary damages framed as royalties on Spikevax sales.
Evonik Industries AGEvonik is investing €80 million in its fermentation plant in Slovakia, pushing the Group’s structural transformation forward with a major investment in biotechnology. Alongside spider‑silk proteins from Amsilk, the site is set to offer a broader CDMO portfolio for the pharmaceutical industry.