Some say it might be the 21st century Vertex. Oxford University-spinout OMass Therapeutics has raised Series B, so far the largest VC-backed investment round announced in British life science sector during 2022, surpassing OriBiotech ($94 million Series B). Interesting collaboration agreements between Valo and Charles River, Quell and Cellistic. Another collaboration that has already been proven successful is University of Cambridge and Parkwalk’s, as they launch their IX Fund. Talking about Vertex, it does not seem they are loosing its dominant position in cystic fibrosis modulators anytime soon. Ask AbbVie. And yet, most certainly the CF conversation is preferred over the patent cliff one.

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Oxford-spinout OMass Therapeutics has raised $100 million Series B. The round has been led by GV, Northpond Ventures and Sanofi Ventures, and seconded by the existing investors Syncona, Oxford Science Enterprises, and Oxford University. The company focuses in inflammatory and rare diseases. Proceeds from the round will be used to bring forward the company portfolio towards clinical trials. OMass aims to OMass has developed OdyssION, a drug discovery platform that utilises Prof. Dame Carol Robinson’s research in native mass spectrometry.

The Francis Crick Institute has secured $50 million research fund. It constitutes the largest ever individual philanthropic pledge in the history of the institution. The funds have been donated by the Chris Banton Foundation and will be used to bring forward new scientific discoveries, validate early stage ideas and prove their commercial viability.

Medtech startup 52 North Health has raised $1 million seed financing round. The round was led by Cambridge Enterprise, and seconded by Crista Galli Ventures, Kings’s Health Partners MedTech Innovations, Meltwind, Milltrust Ventures and other business angels. The startup is developing NeutroCheck: an AI-powered PoC device detecting neutropenic sepsis, a live-threatening condition for cancer patients living outside the hospital. The investment will be used to take the device through clinical trials in UK.

Cerys Medical has raised £3.8 million seed funding round. The round has been seconded by Parkwalk Advisors, Icehouse Ventures, the Development Bank of Wales, the Business Growth Fund and a range of business angels. The med-tech startup is developing a cardiac device called Cysoni and the funding will be used to take it through clinical trials. Cysoni is a bionic cardiac rythm-management device, a new generation of pacemaker that pairs heart beating with respiratory modulation and replicates their natural interaction.

The University of Cambridge has launched its 9th Enterprise Fund. The fund will be managed by Cambridge Enterprise and Parkwalk Advisor and will allow to invest in Cambridge-spinouts in a tax efficient manner through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). Since 2012, Parkwalk’s Cambridge Funds have invested over £22 million, achieved 11 realisations which have yielded over £10 million and performed over 50 joint investments with Cambridge University Enterprise Funds.

London-based AviadoBio has been granted FDA’s and European Commission’s (EC) orphan designation for its frontotemporal dementia (FTD) gene therapy (AVB-101). AVB-101 is a one-dose adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy for FTD patients with mutations in the progranulin gene (GRN), which accounts for up to 40% of the FTD cases. It aims to slow down the disease progression by delivering a healthy copy of GRN through the central nervous system. Clinical trials in UK will start late 2022. AviadoBio raised $80 million investment in December 2021 and the round was led by New Enterprise Associates. FDA grants ‘Orphan designation’ to drugs aiming to treat conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, whereas EC grants it for those intending to treat diseases affecting less than five in 10,000 people in EU. FTD is the second most common form of dementia in adults under 65.

Quell Therapeutics and Ncardia’s Cellistic have signed an agreement to develop an iPSC-derived allogenic T-regulatory (Treg) cell therapy platform. The collaboration aims to exploit Cellistic’s development and manufacturing capabilities to help advancing Quell’s pioneering autologous CAR-Treg cell therapies. Quell Therapeutics is one of the top 10 university spin-outs by investment volume (£117m), and raised $156 million series B in November 2021. Their lead candidate (QEL-001, LIBERATE study) is targeting liver transplant rejection, a process driven by immune dysregulation.

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) and Valo Health have launched Logica, an AI-powered drug discovery platform to deliver optimised preclinical assets. The partnership aims to leverage Opal, Valo’s computational platform, and CRL preclinical expertise. Logica’s Advanceable Lead (Logica-AL) and Logica’s CAndidate (Logica-C) utilise Valo’s proprietary predictive modelling, synthesis and chemical design and high-throughput screening, and will be exclusively available from CRL. The aim is to deliver drug candidates that are ready for the IND-enabling studies and have undergone all required safety and efficacy checks.

Spanish-owned biotech Quibim has selected Cambridge for its first expansion to the UK. The decision was taken together with the Growth Works Business Service and its investment arm Locate Cambridge. Quibim, a whole-body medical imaging startup, had to pitch to a panel formed by Start Codon, Illumina, Eastern Academic Health Science Network(AHSN), and a member of the Department of International Trade’s Global Entrepreneurship Programme. Quibim has developed the Quibim Precision (QP) suite and their most advanced system, QP-Prostate, was found to fit into the NHS’ strategic plan.

Nottingham-based Sygnature Discovery has acquired Peak Proteins, a company set up n 2014 by a group of AstraZeneca’s protein scientists and structural biologists. It represents the 4th acquisition in the last four years and aims to enhance Sygnature’s biophysics and high-throughput capabilities.

CN Bio has launched PhysioMimix, an in-a-box/in vitro model for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The company aims to accelerate the incorporation of single and multi-organ microphysiological systems (MPS) into the drug discovery workflow. This would provide researchers with in-house capabilities to analyse disease-driving mechanisms, safety and efficacy profiles, etc. PhysioMimix allows for formation of 3D tissue structures with primary human hepatocytes, stellate and Kupffer cells.

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Four Oxford researchers have been awarded the prestigious European Research Council Advanced Grants in Biology, Mathematics, Physics and Linguistics. Each research group will receive £2.9 million over 5 years to bring their research forward and build their teams. The grants have been awarded to: Professor Stephen J. Blundell for developing new techniques to use muons, spin-polarised radioactive particles, liquids, and other exotic phases of matter; to Professor Aditi Lahiri for studying the concept of pertinacity, the comparable phonological processes internal to individual languages; Professor Ben Sheldon for studying the effect of anthropogenic climate change in the timing of seasonal events; and Professor Stuart White to conduct fundamental mathematical research on transferring of ideas between non-commutative measure theory and topology.

Breakthrough Properties has raised $3 billion to develop new life science ecosystems, the largest ever life science real estate fund. Breakthrough is one of the most active players in the biotech/pharma sector with 4.6 million sq.ft of projects across Oxford, Cambridge (UK), Boston, Philadelphia, and Amsterdam among others.

Cambridge-based CMR Surgical has launched operations in Hong Kong to broaden its market in Asia-Pacific.

Law firm J A Kemp has won the IP Team of the Year in the Cambridgeshire Law Society (CLS) Legal Excellence Awards 2022. Congratulations to Joe Simon-Brown for his well-deserved recent promotion.

OMass Therapeutics is recruiting. Adrestia Therapeutics is hiring too. And so is Storm Therapeutics.

Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide delivered up to 22.5% weight loss (24 kg) in adults with obesity compared to placebo at 72 weeks of treatment in topline results. SURMOUNT-1 clinical trial enrolled 2,539 participants, adults with overweight or obesity and at least one comorbidity but not diabetes. Participants who achieved at least 5% weight reduction were distributed as 85% (5 mg tirzepatide), 89% (10 mg tirzepatide), 91% (15 mg tirzepatide), 35% (placebo). 63% of participants taking 15 mg tirzepatide lost at least 20% body weight. Tirzepatide is a once-a-week treatment, a single molecule that in integrates the actions of two incretins (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).

AstraZeneca has announced a 60% rising in the first quarter revenue, totalling $11,390 million. The company has unveiled plans to open a new life science hub in Kendall Square, Cambridge (MA). The success builds up on acquisition of Alexion Medicines, revenue from Farxiga, growth of 18% in oncology medicines sales, and Vaxzevria contracts.

PacBio has announced a new capability to their sequencing solution platform, the detection of DNA methylation using the Sequel IIe and Sequel II Systems. This feature enables detection of modified bases in native DNA during sequencing, thus gaining access to epigenome analysis.

AbbVie has cancelled its experimental cystic fibrosis triplet therapy after disappointing efficacy results from Phase II interim analysis. These results leave Vertex throne (and thus CF modulator market) virtually undisputed, as its blockbuster Trikafta yielded $7.5 billion in 2021. AbbVie payed out $245 million to acquire a portfolio of drugs from Galapago, hoping to dispute the market with Vertex. Although the company will not close its cystic fibrosis program, overall the future looks uncertain as Humira patent cliff in 2023 will not go unnoticed.

The man who revived J&J revived business in the mid 2000 is now the company’s CEO. And he, Joaquin Duato, has a new plan.

Good conversation on disruptive forces in biotech, with Jake Becraft (CEO and co-founder of Strand Therapeutics), Lex Rovner (CEO and co-founder of 64x Bio), Josh Mandel (President and CEO of CAMP4 Therapeutics), and Nabiha Saklayen (CEO and cofounder of Cellino).

‘Tissue therapeutics’, a novel (but not so novel) concept in the field of regenerative medicine: David Lennon’s new venture.

London is home for 18,549 new tech startups. A record number.