Novo Holdings co-leads £90 million ($114 million) Series A financing for Myricx Bio to advance a novel payload class for antibody-drug conjugates

Novo Holdings, a leading life science investor, on Monday announced that it has co-led a £90 million ($114 million) Series A financing for Myricx Bio, the largest European biotech Series A financing this year. Myricx Bio is a UK biotech company focusing on the discovery and development of a novel payload class for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

The funds will be used to advance Myricx’s proprietary pipeline of N-Myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) ADCs through clinical proof of concept, targeting clinically validated tumor-associated antigens and addressing serious unmet needs in oncology.

Data presented at ESHRE shows Oxolife’s non-hormonal oral drug raises embryo implantation rate, pregnancy rates and live birth rate in women undergoing IVF and ICSI

Oxolife, the female fertility biotech focused on enhancing embryo implantation in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) fertility treatment, on Monday presented successful phase 2 clinical data on its fertility pill OXO-001 at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) 40th Annual Meeting held in Amsterdam.

Results showed the ongoing pregnancy rate was 10.6 percentage points higher in women who received OXO-001 than in those who received a placebo (46.3% for OXO-001 vs. 35.7% for placebo). Importantly, the live birth rate was 6.9 percentage points higher (42.6% vs for OXO-001 vs. 35.7% for placebo), according to results to be published in Human Reproduction. OXO-001 works by increasing the chance of a viable embryo embedding in the lining of the womb after IVF or ICSI fertility treatment.

This fantastic news was covered by, among others: Sky News, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Express, The i, The Independent, The Daily Mirror, The Standard, The Scotsman and Newsweek; as well as trade press including: IVF Babble, FirstWord Pharma, Pharma Letter, Manufacturing Chemist, Clinical Trials Arena, PharmaFile and News Medical.

Oxolife’s presentation was also awarded the “Special prize for the best scientific communication” at the ESHRE conference, in collaboration with the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Curve Therapeutics strengthens Leadership Team with appointment of experienced biotech executive Simon Jones

Curve Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company pioneering a revolutionary intracellular screening platform addressing complex and challenging disease targets, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Simon Jones as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Simon has over 20 years of experience in the biotech and pharma sector and his appointment comes at a pivotal time as Curve looks to expand its team, advance its proprietary Microcycle® discovery platform, and progress its pipeline of potential first-in-class assets.

iOnctura announces expansion of roginolisib clinical trial program to NSCLC

iOnctura, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company combating neglected and hard-to-treat cancers, on Tuesday announced expansion of the clinical trial program for lead pipeline asset, roginolisib via clinical collaboration agreements with the ETOP IBCSG Partners Foundation and GSK. Roginolisib will be evaluated in combination with dostarlimab in NSCLC.

Heidelberg Pharma Reports on First Half-Year 2024 and the Course of Business

Heidelberg Pharma AG on Thursday published its financial report on the first six months of 2024.

Highlights included the first preliminary efficacy data from its clinical trial of ATAC development candidate HDP-101, an Amanitin-based Antibody Drug Conjugate, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, alongside Orphan Drug Designation approval by the FDA for HDP-101.

Optimum TV

In the latest episode of  Optimum TV, Michael Bauer, Partner at Novo Holdings Venture Investments, explains why the investor was so keen on British biotech Myricx Bio, a spin-out from Imperial College and the Francis Crick Institute. Myricx has concluded a staggering £90m Series A round, led by Novo Holdings, to develop ADCs which use an entirely new class of payload based on its NMT-inhibitor technology.

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Register your interest for Optimum’s 16th Annual Healthcare Investor Conference

Don’t miss out on your chance to join us at our Annual Healthcare Investor Conference on Thursday 10th October 2024!

Held at the prestigious King’s Fund venue in London, the half day event brings together top executives and investors from the life sciences and investment communities. Find out more and register your interest here!

Who’s on the move this month?

Check out the latest moves in the life sciences sector with our monthly round-up of new funds and the biggest job changes, including analysts, bankers, and healthcare journalists.

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