Weekly roundup: An A* week! Advancements, acquisitions, appointments and Series A financings!

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AMSilk Secures EUR 52M Strategic Financing to Accelerate Commercial Growth
AMSilk GmbH has successfully secured EUR 52 million financing led by existing investor ATHOS (AT Newtec), along with strong participation from fellow existing investors MIG Capital and Novo Holdings. The financing will enable AMSilk to scale industrial production and meet global customer demand for its biotech produced silk-based protein materials.

Alchemab Therapeutics initiates Phase 1 clinical trial of ATLX-1282 and announces $32 million Series A financing extension
Alchemab will conduct the first-in-human study for ATLX-1282 and Eli Lilly will lead further development and commercialisation of the therapy. The Company also announced a $32 million Series A extension financing, bringing the Company’s total Series A investment to date to $114 million.

Pheon Therapeutics bolsters Board of Directors with oncology R&D expert Dr. Samuel Blackman
Pheon appoints accomplished oncology expert and biotech innovator, Samuel Blackman, MD, PhD, as an independent, Non-Executive Director to its Board. As a physician-scientist and entrepreneur, Dr. Blackman brings a wealth of experience spanning industry and clinical research.

Kaerus Bioscience’s lead asset, KER-0193, a potential treatment for Fragile X syndrome, acquired by Servier in a deal worth up to $450M
Servier has entered into a definitive agreement with Kaerus Bioscience for the acquisition of KER-0193, a potential treatment for Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Resolution Therapeutics appoints Lucy Singah as Chief Financial Officer and Daniel Kennedy as Chief Business Officer
Resolution Therapeutics announced the appointment of Lucy Singah as Chief Financial Officer to drive corporate and strategic goals and Daniel Kennedy as Chief Business Officer to propel business development and partnering deals.

Kling Bio validates its proprietary B-Cell technology for rapid response against emerging viral variants
Kling Bio published a peer-reviewed study titled ‘Immune counter-evolution: Immortalized B cell clones can undergo ex vivo directed evolution to counteract viral escape’ in the high-impact journal Frontiers in Immunology, validating the company’s proprietary primary B-cell platform technologies for rapidly developing adaptable antibody therapeutics against evolving viral threats.

Biocomposites: Results from BIG D-FOOT study using STIMULAN® when treating DFO to be presented at EBJIS 2025
Biocomposites announced its participation as a Platinum Sponsor of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Bone & Joint Infection Society (EBJIS), taking place on 11-13 September 2025 at the Bologna Congress Centre in Bologna, Italy. Its industry-sponsored symposium will explore best practice treatment strategies for complex infections and share findings from the BIG D FOOT study.

DeuterOncology to present promising Phase I DO-2 MET kinase inhibitor data at WCLC 2025
DeuterOncology, announced compelling safety, pharmacokinetic, and efficacy results from its ongoing Phase I dose escalation study of DO-2, a novel deuterated MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor. The results were presented at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) 2025 in Barcelona.

CONNECTA Therapeutics to advance CTH120 into Phase II paediatric development for Fragile X syndrome with EIC accelerator support
CONNECTA Therapeutics has initiated studies for the paediatric development program of CTH120, an investigational FXS treatment, following positive results from the Phase I trial.

 

📺Optimum TV
In the second of our Countdown to Conference series – ahead of Optimum’s 17th Annual Healthcare Investor Conference being held on Thursday October 9th at The King’s Fund in London – we talk to seasoned life science investor Søren Møller, Managing Partner of Novo Holdings Seed Investment.
Søren talks about the up-and-down year 2025 is proving to be for the life science market, how this has impacted investment decisions, and the importance of “ploughing on”. Watch here ⬇️

 

🔥Hot topic
Merck’s decision to scrap a £1bn research facility in London is a blow to the UK’s plans to encourage growth by fostering R&D investment from life science companies. Ministers face a major dilemma over how to encourage investment from pharma without blowing the NHS budget, Optimum’s latest #HotTopic argues.

 

👥Industry events

📅 Join us at the LSX Investival Showcase Europe 2025!

Optimum is proud to be a supporting partner of the LSX Investival Showcase Europe. On Monday 17th November at Old Billingsgate, London capital meets innovation, and global leaders come to connect, pitch, and partner.
👉 Learn more and register here: https://informaconnect.com/investival-showcase/
Early-bird off ends today (12th September)! Use together with Optimum’s partner discount code (optimum15) to save an additional 15%

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