Recent financing news includes several companies raising money to advance their research to the clinic. Here’s a look back at funding rounds from companies such as Outpace Bio, GRO Biosciences, and Confo Therapeutics.

By Frank VinluanOne challenge for developing drugs for autoimmune diseases is that biologic therapies can spark an immune response against them. Immunology and inflammation research is coming up with new approaches to reduce the risk of such responses. That science is progressing in the hands of new companies raising fresh rounds of capital.
Inflammation and immunology figures prominently in recent funding news, which includes several companies approaching the clinic with novel biologic drugs. Here’s a recap of recent biotech financings, grouped according to therapeutic area:
Immunology & Inflammation
—Abiologics unveiled an artificial intelligence-driven platform technology for designing novel biologic drugs based on non-standard amino acids. The startup, which has been incubating within Flagship Pioneering for the past three years, will focus on developing drugs for immunology and cancer. It’s backed by the customary $50 million that Flagship provides all of its startups at launch.
—Paragon Therapeutics, the startup creation engine of Fairmount Funds, spun out Jade Biosciences, its fourth company. Waltham, Massachusetts-based Jade has a preclinical pipeline of targeted therapies for indications in inflammation and immunology. Jade is backed by $80 million in financing led by Fairmount and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners.
—GRO Biosciences revealed a lead drug candidate and $60 million in financing to advance it into the clinic. The drug candidate, which is engineered to avoid triggering an immune response, will be tested in gout. Atlas Venture and Access Biotechnology led the Cambridge-based startup’s Series B financing.
—Third Arc Bio revealed $165 million in financing for multifunctional antibodies in development for autoimmune diseases and cancer. Omega Funds formed and seeded the startup, which launched in 2022. Third Arc now plans to bring multiple programs into the clinic in 2025. The new capital is a Series A financing that was led by Vida Ventures and co-led by Cormorant Asset Management and Hillhouse Investment. Third Arc’s CEO is Peter F. Lebowitz, who was previously global head of oncology R&D for Johnson & Johnson.
—SciRhom raised €63 million (about $70 million) to advance the development of autoimmune disease drugs. The research o Munich, Germany-based startup focuses on the TACE/ADAM17 pathway, which plays a key role in autoimmunity and other indications. Lead SciRhom program SR-878 is an antibody designed to inhibit the TACE enzyme, which plays a role in inflammation. SciRhom says its drug can target the disease-driving pathways of TACE while preserving its other functions. The Series A financing was co-led by Andera Partners, Kurma Partners, Hadean Ventures, MIG Capital, and Wellington Partners.
—Santa Ana Bio unveiled $168 million to total financing raised to support the development of targeted therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The Alameda, California-based startup, which was founded by venture capital firm Versant Ventures, says most biologic drugs for inflammatory and immunological diseases target signaling proteins called cytokines. But these targets are not causal factors of disease and the drugs that hit them don’t discriminated between healthy tissue and diseased tissue. Santa Ana identifies targets found only on disease-causing cell types, which the startup contends addresses the shortcomings of current biologic drugs. The company says it has three programs on track to enter the clinic in 2025. Founding investor Versant Ventures led Santa Ana’s Series A round; GV led the $125 million Series B financing.
Oncology
—Outpace Bio, a company working to bring cell therapies to solid tumors, raised $144 million to bring its programs into early clinical development. The Seattle-based biotech uses artificial intelligence to design proteins that overcome hurdles to drugging tumors. Lead program OPB-101 is a T cell-based cell therapy on track to enter the clinic in 2025. RA Capital Management led Outpace’s Series B financing.
—Scorpion Therapeutics raised $150 million to support its pipeline of cancer drugs. The most advanced program of the Boston-based company is STX-478, a small molecule designed to address breast cancer and other solid tumors characterized by PI3K alpha mutations. A Phase 1/2 testing is underway with multiple cohorts evaluating the drug as a monotherapy and in drug combinations. Frazier Life Sciences and Lightspeed Venture Partners co-led Scorpion’s Series C financing.
—CatalYm raised $150 million to expand clinical development of lead program visugromab, an antibody drug designed to neutralize GDF-15, a protein that regulates immune resistance to cancer therapies. During the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in June, CatalYm presented Phase 1/2a data showing that visugromab, combined with the Bristol Myers Squibb checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab, achieved deep and durable anti-tumor activity in patients with advanced cases of non-small cell lung cancer, urothelial cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma. Munich, Germany-based CatalYm plans to advance visugromab to Phase 2b testing. New investors Canaan Partners and Bioqube Ventures led company’s Series D round.
—The field of companies developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancer is crowded. Myricx Bio has raised £90 million (about $114 million) to show how it can stand apart with a technology platform that employs the NMT enzyme to add a specific lipid modification to several protein targets key to cancer cell survival. In preclinical research, Myricx says its ADCs achieved complete and durable tumor regression at well tolerated doses in multiple solid tumors that do not respond to treatment with ADCs employing topoisomerase 1 inhibitor, an often-used ADC drug payload. Novo Holdings and Abingworth co-led the Series A financing, which the startup will use to build out its ADC payload platform and to advance its drug pipeline through clinical proof of concept.
Cardiometabolic Disease
—Confo Therapeutics, a developer of small molecules and antibodies that target G protein-coupled receptors, closed €60 million in financing. The Ghent, Belgium-based company’s most advanced program is CFTX-1554, a peripheral pain drug candidate in Phase 1 development under a partnership with Eli Lilly. Confo will use the new proceeds to advance two wholly owned programs through Phase 1 testing and two additional programs to investigational new drug applications. These programs include molecules that address the target GPR75 to potentially treat obesity. Confo’s Series B round was led by Ackermans & van Haaren.
—Rona Therapeutics, a developer of small interfering RNA therapies for metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, has raised $35 million. The Shanghai-based company’s most advanced program is RN0191, a Phase 2-ready therapeutic candidate for hypercholesterolemia. LongRiver Investments led what Rona is calling a Series A+ financing.
—NGM Biosciences, which was taken private earlier this year, raised $122 million in Series A financing for pivotal testing of a drug for a liver disease with no FDA-approved therapies. The drug, aldafermin, was initially developed for the fatty liver disease metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) but failed in Phase 2 testing in 2021. South San Francisco-based NGM is now focusing on developing the small molecule as a treatment for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a disease that damages the bile ducts of the liver.
In addition to the clinical trial plans in PSC, NGM plans to complete a planned Phase 2 test NGM120 in hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition in pregnancy characterized by difficult-to-treat nausea and uncontrollable vomiting (up to 15 times a day). Both studies are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. The Column Group led NGM’s new financing round.
—Cardurion Pharmaceuticals has $260 million to continue clinical development of its two lead heart drug candidates. CRD-750, a PDE9 inhibitor, is being evaluated in two Phase 2 tests in two types of heart failure. Meanwhile, a CaMKII inhibitor code-named CRD-4730 is in Phase 2 testing for catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, a rare genetic arrhythmic disease. Cardurion said it also plans to develop CaMKII inhibitors in additional major cardiovascular indications. Ascenta Capital led the Series B financing of Burlington, Massachusetts-based Cardurion.
Neuroscience
—Autobahn Therapeutics raised $100 million to continue clinical development of its lead drug candidate, an oral small molecule that selectively target thyroid hormone receptors in the brain. Phase 2 tests will evaluate the drug in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder depression. Newpath Partners led the San Diego-based startup’s Series C financing.
—Brenig Therapeutics raised $65 million to advance a Parkinson’s disease drug into early clinical development. The drug candidate, BT-267, is a small molecule designed to block leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). Mutated versions of this enzyme are a genetic cause of Parkinson’s. The drugs of the Dover, Delaware-based startup come from an artificial intelligence/machine learning discovery platform. Brenig contends BT-267 is designed to achieve high and sustained exposure in the brain but not elsewhere, thus minimizing the risk of adverse effects in other parts of the body. New Enterprise Associates led Brenig’s Series A financing.
—Asceneuron, a company developing treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, closed $100 million in financing. The Lausanne, Switzerland-based company’s lead program, ASN51, prevents aggregation of a toxic protein called tau. The startup will apply its new capital toward Phase 2 testing in Alzheimer’s disease. Novo Holdings led Asceneuron’s Series C financing.
Eye Disorders
—Beacon Therapeutics, a company developing gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases, closed $170 million in financing. The London-based company will use the proceeds to continue development of lead program AGTC-501, which is in Phase 2/3 testing for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that leads to photoreceptor damage. The gene in AGTC-501 expresses full length RPGR protein to address all photoreceptor damage caused by the disease, including the loss of both rods and cones. Beacon also plans to advance a different asset to Phase 1/2 testing for dry age-related macular degeneration. Forbion led Beacon’s Series B financing.
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