Mandy Jackson

Spero raised $105m, to be repaid by milestone fees and royalties from its newly approved, GSK-partnered antibiotic Utebzi. It will fund a Phase II trial in IgG4-related disease for SP001, in-licensed from Innovent.

Private Company Edition: Chai Discovery raised $400m in series C venture capital and AdvanCell closed a $315m series D financing, while Mighty Therapeutics secured up to $150m in debt and VC cash. Fore Biotherapeutics raised $67.4m, bringing its series D-2 total to $110m.

Scrip spoke at the BIO International Convention with Vaxart, Aphaia, Connect Biopharma and Kyverna executives about near-term milestones and with Chugai's Ryuji Hayashi about drug discovery priorities.

Restructuring Edition: Companies struggling and running out of cash are increasingly turning to reverse mergers with 10 so far in 2026. Also, Matinas is merging with a clean energy company as it nears the end of its cash runway, while job cuts continue at big pharma firms, including Novartis.

Public Company Edition: With investor interest in drug developer initial public offerings rising, more firms have filed to go public, including BlossomHill, Vogenx, Braveheart, Attovia and Apnimed. Also, Erasca raised $632.5m in a follow-on offering, while Inhibrx expanded a debt deal to $500m.

Public Company Edition: Scribe Therapeutics grossed $128.7m in the 14th biopharma IPO in the US in 2026, while Oak Hill Bio will go public by merging with RA Capital's recent SPAC. Also, Dyne closed a $431.4m follow-on offering and Entra Bio raised $275m in a private placement.

Interim Phase Ib data for PMN310 show no cases of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities with edema (ARIA-E), a safety risk associated with approved drugs that requires repeat MRI monitoring.

Private Company Edition: Mentari raised $200m, Crystalys garnered $130m and Claris Bio closed a $118m series B round, but the next-largest private drug developer financing during the last two weeks was Transcripta Bio's $24m series A round.

Bristol Myers Squibb, under pressure to boost sales ahead of losses of exclusivity, beat second quarter expectations and remained confident in upcoming Phase III readouts despite shifted timelines.

Apnimed's initial public offering raised $192m to fund regulatory and commercial activities for its sleep apnea candidate Oxnimbi (AD109). Braveheart, Vogenx and Attovia are next in line for IPOs.