Neon Therapeutics
Raises $100 Million
Neon Therapeutics made it into the big H1 group of biotech IPOs which have landed so far this year. Hopes of helping open a new chapter in cancer therapy with their brand of highly personalized neoantigen vaccines, along with plenty of insider support got them out of the gate on Nasdaq at $16 a share - landing in the middle of the range with a $100 million raise. The biotech will start trading as $NTGN. Learn More
GW Pharma's Epidiolex
The FDA approves the first cannabinoid and gives a green light to GW Pharma's Epidiolex for rare seizures. GW Pharma $GWPH finished its layup at the FDA today with Epidiolex, grabbing its first ever marketing okay for one of its cannabinoid drugs and setting up the biotech for a major shift toward commercialization. Learn More
Biotech IPO burst as 5 more crash the party looking for $547M
This is a major step forward in the agreement for cannabis based therapeutics and sets up the entire cannabis industry for a major shift toward commercialization. I daresay this is groundbreaking and will require the US to potentially re-examine its stance on cannabis as a Schedule I drug.
What you need to know about this record-setting biotech IPO burst as 5 more crash the party looking for $547M.
A half-dozen companies raised $718 million last week. 4 are now out to raise $500 million this week and 5 filed on 6/22 for $547 million, does the market have bandwidth for $1.8 billion more in biotech paper ???? I think it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Is it a coincidence that these IPOs come after the most active period of investing that the industry has ever seen? Learn More
Microbiome
Last week we talked about interesting scientific data looking at the microbiome. This week we see Flagship's Kaleido, a food-sourced micro biome drugs development company, close on $101 million to push its pipeline through the clinic. Congrats to Noubar for this effort!
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Roche $2.4B deal to buy out Foundation Medicine
Roche finally did what we expected them to do 5 years ago, buy Foundation Medicine. Remember, Roche paid $1.0 billion for 56% of Foundation. This offer represents a value for Foundation at $5.3 billion, so it makes me wonder what Roche sees here? Learn More
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