Financing & Funds
Penn cell and gene therapy spinout Interius Biotherapeutics raises another $21.5M. The 4-year-old company has now raised nearly $100 million since its inception, including the $76 million it raised last year in a Series A round co-led by Boston-based Cormorant Asset Management and Fairmount Funds in Philadelphia. Interius Bio is initially focused on treating hematologic malignancies using its proprietary gene delivery platform to generate chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells directly in vivo — meaning inside the body. The therapeutic approach bypasses the need for cell manipulations outside the body, and for the potentially toxic pre-conditioning chemotherapy required for standard CAR T-cell treatments. Bizjournal
BioPhy Secures $4.5 Million in Funding to Propel Advancements in its Revolutionary AI Platform, Designed to Expedite the Trillion-Dollar Drug Development Market. With the newly acquired funding, the company has successfully developed an AI operating system finely tuned to support pharmaceutical companies in streamlining their drug development processes. Over the past 27 months, this validated technology, rigorously tested in real-world scenarios, has showcased an impressive 80 percent accuracy in predicting outcomes for more than 1,500 clinical trials. Noteworthy contributors to the $4.5 million funding include Metrodora Ventures, led by Chelsea Clinton and Caroline Kassie, Audere Capital, TRCM, and influential figures in the life sciences sector, such as Jeff Marrazzo, co-founder, and former CEO of Spark Therapeutics. The substantial funding injection positions BioPhy at the forefront of innovation in the dynamic landscape of AI-driven drug development. - PR
Vittoria Biotherapeutics Successfully Raises Over $15 Million in Private Financing Round to Propel the Advancement of Cutting-Edge CAR-T Cell Therapies for cancer and autoimmune. The substantial funding will bolster the progress of their leading candidate, VIPER-101, as it moves towards clinical development. This funding round, spearheaded by Valley Forge Investment Corporation, has garnered support from prominent institutions, including Agent Capital, Tellus BioVentures, the University of Pennsylvania, BioAdvance, NYBC Ventures, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program (LLS TAP), among others. Nicholas Siciliano, Ph.D., the company's CEO, boasts a proven track record in value creation, highlighted by his recent success with Invisible Sentinel. Notably, Invisible Sentinel was acquired by bioMérieux for approximately $75 million in cash in 2019. Vittoria Biotherapeutics is now well-positioned to leverage this financial support for groundbreaking advancements in the field of cell therapies. - PR
SwanBio Therapeutics Raises $10 Million from Syncona Partners in Venture round to push forward its’ AAV-based therapies for the treatment of devastating, inherited neurological conditions, today announced it has begun the second dose-escalation cohort of its first interventional clinical study, PROPEL. PROPEL is a Phase 1/2 first-in-human clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of SBT101. Crunchbase biospace
Funds
1315 Capital concludes two successful fundraising rounds, raising over $500 million for investments in commercial-stage healthcare companies. Both 1315 Capital III ("Fund III") and 1315 Capital Emerging Growth and Buyout ("EGB") exceeded their respective targets of $350 million and $150 million. The funds, supported by a diverse investor base, aim to invest in commercial-stage healthcare businesses with revenue potential between $50 million and $150 million, having a minimum of $5 million in revenue at the time of investment. This financial backing allows 1315 Capital flexibility in participating in transactions, with investments ranging from $5 million to $40 million. PR
The new $28M GO PA Fund means collaboration between all 4 Ben Franklin Tech Partners, led by Philly. Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania is leaning into statewide collaboration with the other Bens and state government with the new Global Opportunity Pennsylvania (GO PA) Fund II. The Philadelphia-area arm of the state-backed investment network announced the fund’s initial close this week after raising $28 million. Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA, headquartered in Philly’s Navy Yard, and Lancaster-based Fulton Bank are anchor investors. Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, WSFS Bank, Robin Hood Ventures and Investors Circle also contributed. PR
M&A
Philadelphia’s Resolian, the CRO formerly known as Alliance, makes move into China with Denali acquisition. Denali, which has 70 employees, is known for its work in the bioanalysis of oligonucleotide drugs and mRNA vaccines as well as liposomal drugs, ultra-sensitive assays for inhalation drugs and biomarker assays. Fiercebiotech
Immunome and Morphimmune Announce Successful Completion of Merger with $125 Million PIPE to Develop Novel Targeted Cancer Therapies. Clay B. Siegall, Ph.D., former co-founder & CEO of Seagen, Inc., appointed as Chairman and CEO. $125 million private placement investment completed with leading institutional investors will support cash runway expected to extend into Q1 2026. Expected to submit three investigational new drug applications (INDs) within 18 months. PR
Noramco Announces the Acquisition of the Cambrex Drug Product Business Unit, previously known as Halo Pharmaceuticals. The acquisition will provide API customers of Noramco, and its subsidiary Purisys, additional service options such as drug product formulation development, clinical and commercial drug product manufacturing, and packaging from facilities in Mirabel, Québec and Whippany, New Jersey. Noramco is returning to the Halo Pharmaceutical brand as part of this acquisition. PR
Harmony Biosciences completed its acquisition of Zynerba Pharmaceuticals. Zynerba is a leader in pharmaceutically produced transdermal cannabinoid therapies for orphan neuropsychiatric disorders. Zygel is the first-and-only pharmaceutically manufactured synthetic cannabidiol. It is a non-euphoric cannabinoid formulated as a patent-protected permeation-enhanced gel for transdermal delivery through the skin and into the circulatory system. The product is manufactured through a synthetic process in a cGMP facility and is not extracted from the cannabis plant. PR
