Recent Funding:
OrbiMed Raises $3B Across Two New Life-Sciences Funds
The major life-sciences investor closed over $1.9B for its 10th flagship private-equity fund (US and Europe) plus over $1B for its sixth Asia-focused fund, citing AI and China’s rise as a biotech powerhouse as key drivers; OrbiMed now manages more than $21B. The raise underscores capital flowing back into the sector — and the West-Coast angle: Palo Alto’s TCGX announced a $600M Asia biopharma fund the week prior, its first dedicated Asia vehicle.
Estuary Biotherapeutics (SF) Debuts With $103M for Kidney Gene Therapies
The startup launched with $103M — a $93M Series A led by RA Capital plus a $10M seed — to advance two AAV gene therapies (EST-201 for PKD2, EST-101 for PKD1) that aim at the root cause of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, with clinic entry targeted for 2027 and 2028. Spun out of Yale research and backed by Deep Track, Biogen New Ventures and UPMC Enterprises, Estuary positions its one-time therapies to go beyond Otsuka’s Jynarque, which only slows cyst growth.
M&A, Deals, Partnerships:
Vir Biotechnology (SF) Lands Up-to-$1.9B Gilead Cancer Pact
Gilead licensed three dual-masked T-cell engagers built on Vir’s PRO-XTEN platform for solid tumors, paying $90M upfront ($65M cash plus a $25M equity stake at a 30% premium) with up to roughly $1.74B in additional milestones plus royalties. CEO Marianne De Backer framed the targets as ones Vir was not pursuing itself, so the deal brings in non-dilutive cash while letting the company stay focused on its own pipeline — and she signaled appetite to do more deals.
AstraZeneca (SF) Inks $1.5B AI Target-Discovery Deal with insitro
AstraZeneca will pay $40M upfront with up to about $1.46B in milestones plus royalties for insitro to use its Virtual Human AI platform to find novel targets in MASH (liver) and cardiomyopathies (heart). AstraZeneca takes exclusive worldwide rights to selected programs; the pact extends AZ’s AI push following its Algen, Modella and Owkin moves.
Ultragenyx (SF) Sells Second Priority Review Voucher in a Week for $203M
The $203M sale — tied to the FDA approval of FAYUVI (UX111) for Sanfilippo syndrome Type A — follows the company’s $210M Genglycos voucher sale announced a week earlier, stacking non-dilutive capital. Management says the proceeds fund advancement of its rare-disease pipeline and support the path to profitability without diluting shareholders.
IPOs:
Iambic Therapeutics (SD) Prices $150M IPO and Jumps on Debut
The AI-driven oncology biotech priced at $16 per share (the mid-point of its range), raising about $150M, and began trading on Nasdaq under ticker IAM on Oct. 15, with shares rising roughly 16% on their first day. Proceeds back a Phase 1 pipeline led by IAM1363, an oral HER2-targeting candidate, with potential registrational trials planned for 2027.
Other Interesting News:
Gilead’s (SF) Oral UC Pill Posts Stronger Remission Than Entyvio
In the Phase 2 SWIFT dose-finding trial, a 200 mg once-daily dose of the oral α4β7 inhibitor emvistegrast produced a 66% clinical response and 31% clinical remission at three months, versus 37% and 8% on placebo. Analysts noted the 31% remission rate beats Takeda’s infused Entyvio (27% in VARSITY) and Lilly/Morphic’s zotemtegrast (26%) on a cross-trial basis; Gilead plans to start a Phase 3 monotherapy study in 2027.
Arrowhead’s (LA) Brain-Targeting RNAi Drug Lowers Alzheimer’s Tau in Early Study
In an early Phase 1/2a trial in healthy volunteers, the highest dose of ARO-MAPT cut tau protein by an average of 73% (up to 85%) at day 105 after two injections, pointing to possible once-quarterly dosing. The company says the data clinically validate a platform that can deliver its drugs across the blood-brain barrier, though the study does not yet show any memory benefit.
Biomea Fusion’s (SF) Oral GLP-1 Phase 1 Data Sends Shares Down 30%
BMF-650 drove mean weight reductions of 1.5% to 3.2% at day 29 across four cohorts (6.1% in a fifth confined cohort); the cash-strapped biotech framed the modest loss as a tolerability feature, but shares fell about 30% to 87 cents. Rather than fund later-stage work itself, Biomea plans toxicology studies and a partnered expansion cohort while seeking a partner to carry the molecule into Phase 2.
