Recent Funding:
NewLimit (SF) Raises $435M Series C to Take Age-Reprogramming Drug to Human Trials
Longevity biotech NewLimit closed a $435M Series C led by Founders Fund with participation from Thrive Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Eli Lilly Ventures, and others, pushing its valuation to $3.1B — more than three times where it stood twelve months ago.
The company plans to initiate its first human clinical trial in 2026 for NLMT1001, a liver-targeted epigenetic age-reprogramming therapy designed to restore youthful hepatocyte function, with a longer-term goal of expanding into broader metabolic disease.
Cavalry Biosciences (CA) Pursues $75M Series B for Eye and Muscle Disorder Drugs
Cavalry Biosciences — the first company out of Bay Area incubator Jupiter Bioventures — is actively raising a $75M Series B backed by Venrock, Mission BioCapital, and Lilly Ventures, with CEO Preston Klassen (formerly of Metacrine) leading the effort.
Proceeds will fund IND-enabling studies and first-in-human trials for its two lead programs targeting rare eye conditions and muscle disorders; Cavalry represents a new template for Jupiter Bioventures’ incubation-to-clinical model.
M&A, Deals, Partnerships:
Nurix (SF) Inks $700M Upfront / $2.3B Roche Deal for BTK Degrader Bexobrutideg
Nurix Therapeutics announced a collaboration with Roche in which Roche will pay $700 million upfront — with up to $2.3 billion in total potential value — to co-develop bexobrutideg, Nurix’s BTK degrader for B-cell malignancies including CLL and lymphoma.
The deal validates Nurix’s targeted protein degradation platform and follows earlier BTK degrader interest from Gilead and Sanofi; at $700M upfront, this is the largest single deal payment to a California biotech this week and one of the largest degrader deals on record.
J&J Acquires Firefly Bio (SF) for $1B — Carolyn Bertozzi’s Degrader-ADC Play in KRAS
Johnson & Johnson is paying $1 billion cash upfront to acquire Firefly Bio, a preclinical California startup co-founded by Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi (Stanford) that is pioneering degrader antibody conjugates (DACs) — a next-generation twist on ADCs that degrades rather than simply kills target cells.
Firefly’s platform is focused on the KRAS field, making this strategically notable as J&J positions to participate in the RAS oncology wave catalyzed by Revolution Medicines’ daraxonrasib data; J&J is buying the platform and Bertozzi’s scientific pedigree, not near-term revenue.
Travere Therapeutics – which received FDA approval in April for Filspari in FSGS – is paying $112.5M upfront plus up to $1.03B in milestones across up to 5 indications to license civorebrutinib, an oral BTK inhibitor from China’s Everest Medicines for ex-Asia rare kidney disease rights.
Phase 1/2 data in primary membranous nephropathy showed reductions in anti-PLA2R autoantibodies and proteinuria with high rates of immunologic remission through 52 weeks; Travere CEO Eric Dube called it a potential best-in-class across PMN, FSGS, IgAN, minimal change disease, and beyond.
CytomX (SF) Expands Regeneron Collaboration on Conditional Bispecifics — Up to $4B in Milestones
CytomX Therapeutics expanded its 2022 collaboration with Regeneron, receiving a $37M upfront target nomination payment for two additional programs and granting Regeneron options on up to six more future targets; total potential milestones across all programs could reach approximately $4B.
The platform pairs CytomX’s Probody masking technology — which keeps a bispecific antibody inactive until tumor-microenvironment proteases activate it — with Regeneron’s Veloci-Bi platform, aiming to widen the therapeutic window for T-cell engagers in solid tumors.
Inceptive (SF) Lands $30M Upfront + Up to $2B from Alnylam for RNA AI Platform
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals signed its first AI discovery deal with Silicon Valley-based Inceptive, paying $30M upfront plus up to $2B in potential milestones to access Inceptive’s generative ML models specifically trained on RNA biology.
Inceptive was founded by Jakob Uszkoreit, co-author of the original transformer architecture paper; its RNA-native AI approach is designed to discover and prioritize novel RNAi candidates, pairing Alnylam’s 20+ years of RNAi proprietary data with cutting-edge generative design.
Other Interesting News:
Cardiff Oncology (SD) Posts Updated Phase 2 Colorectal Cancer Data at ASCO, Heads to Pivotal
Cardiff Oncology presented updated Phase 2 data for onvansertib (oral PLK1 inhibitor) at ASCO in first-line RAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer: the 30 mg + FOLFIRI/bev arm showed a 72.2% response rate vs. 42.1% in the control cohort, with median PFS not yet reached and a hazard ratio of 0.55.
Cardiff is advancing the 30 mg + FOLFIRI/bev combination into Phase 3; key caveats include the failure of the FOLFOX arm (limiting the addressable population to ~30% of frontline patients), Cardiff’s lean cash position ($46.1M into Q1 2027), and likely need for dilutive financing or a partnership to fund the pivotal study.
Autobahn Therapeutics (SD) Reports Phase 2 Win in Bipolar Depression, Eyes Pivotal in 2027
Autobahn Therapeutics reported positive Phase 2 topline data for elunetirom — an oral, brain-selective thyroid hormone receptor agonist — in the Amplify-BD trial: 16.8-point average reduction in HAMD score at 6 weeks (primary endpoint), 75% response rate, and 50% remission in 21 patients already on mood stabilizers and/or antipsychotics.
The drug is designed to deliver the antidepressant benefit of thyroid hormone without systemic side effects (cardiac effects, weight loss) that have historically limited thyroid-based psychiatry treatments; Autobahn holds FDA Fast Track designation and plans an end-of-Phase 2 FDA meeting to align on a registration-enabling Phase 3 trial starting H1 2027.
Vera Therapeutics (SF) Aligns with FDA on Earlier Phase 3 eGFR Readout for Atacicept in IgAN
Vera Therapeutics announced FDA alignment on an accelerated ORIGIN 3 eGFR analysis timeline — the full-approval endpoint pulled forward from 2027 to Q3 2026 — with an sBLA submission now targeted for Q4 2026 and potential traditional approval in 2027.
Atacicept (a BAFF/APRIL dual inhibitor biologic) carries a PDUFA date of July 7, 2026 for accelerated approval; this development significantly de-risks the path to traditional approval and makes Vera a credible near-term M&A target in the hot IgAN space alongside Otsuka’s VOYXACT.
ImmunityBio (LA) Presents Phase 3 ANKTIVA Lung Cancer Data at ASCO — Stock Falls 5.6%
ImmunityBio presented Phase 3 randomized data from the QUILT-2.023 study for ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept, an IL-15 receptor agonist) in combination with checkpoint inhibitor ± chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Despite showing an active immunological profile, the stock dropped 5.6% after the presentation — market reaction signals investor concern about differentiation vs. approved checkpoint regimens; the company also presented comparative bladder cancer data, where ANKTIVA has an existing FDA approval.
Dimension Capital (SF) Raises Up to $750M Third Fund — Key Backer of CA Biotech Ecosystem
Dimension Capital — a life sciences investor focused on the convergence of machine learning and biotech — is raising up to $750M for its third fund; portfolio companies relevant to this briefing include NewLimit (SSF) and Chai Discovery (SF).
The fund raise is a relevant BD signal: Dimension backs early-stage CA biopharma companies at the AI-biology intersection, making it a key firm to track for pipeline emerging from the Bay Area over the next 12–18 months.
