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BFD Expert Voices - Health Tech Deals

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AbbVie inked a partnership this week with OSE Immunotherapeutics to develop a chronic inflammation treatment, currently in pre-clinical development stage.

Why it matters: The Chicago-area Big Pharma firm continues efforts to fill the Humira-sized gap in its revenue pipeline. 

Zoom in: Per the terms of the agreement, OSE will receive an upfront payment of $48 million, with a potential additional $665 million in milestone payments.

Catch up quick: Last week, AbbVie announced longtime CEO Richard Gon­za­lez will transition to chairman, to be succeeded by president and COO Robert Michael on Ju­ly 1.

Elsewhere in Big Pharma-land, Roche is weighing a sale of lung disease drug Esbriet, which generated around $229 million in 2023 sales, Bloomberg reported.

And Gilead disclosed in a regulatory filing that it reached its $3.3 billion all-cash takeover agreement with CymaBay Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CBAY) only after the liver-focused biotech's board had unsuccessfully pushed for a 50 cent per share price hike.  

Blos­somHill Ther­a­peu­tics — helmed by co-founders of Turn­ing Point Ther­a­peu­tics, which sold to Bris­tol My­ers Squibb for $4.1 billion in 2022 — raised a $100 mil­lion Se­ries B.

Funds will help the biotech bring three of its on­col­o­gy small mol­e­cules into the clin­ic, with early ef­fi­ca­cy da­ta expected in the sec­ond half of 2025.

State of play: Other biotech deals this week include:

Kenai Therapeutics (fka Ryne Bio), developer of a dopamine neuron progenitor targeting Parkinson's disease, raised $82m in Series A funding from the Alaska Permanent Fund, Cure Ventures, The Column Group, Euclidean Capital and Saisei Ventures. kenaitx.com

Pelage Pharmaceuticals, an LA-based developer of hair loss treatments, raised $16.8m in Series A funding led by GV. axios.link/4bTVCvK

 Silexion, an Israeli oncology biotech, agreed to go public at an implied $62.5m pre-deal equity value via Moringa Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: MACA), which previously had a deal to buy Israeli online travel booking company Holisto. axios.link/42Q7SJv

Orbis Medicines, a Danish oral macrocycle drug discovery company, raised €26m from Novo Holdings and Forbion. orbismedicines.com

Sato Pharmaceutical will pay $25 mil­lion up­front and up to $40 mil­lion in mile­stones to license an immuno-dermatology treatment from Arcutis Biotherapeutics. axios.link/3SXfDst 

1. Your week in biotech

Illustration of three prescription pill bottles made from stacks of coins, organized by ascending height.

Feb. 26 — Reveleer, a health insurance risk management SaaS company, raised $65 million in debt financing, CEO Jay Ackerman told Aaron.

Why it matters: The ongoing shift to value-based care is being supported by tech solutions that help payers and providers better manage risk.

Go deeper: Read Monday's newsletter, plus Monday's Pro Rata on a startup using AI to develop vaccines for future pandemics.

2. Reveleer rakes in $65M for future M&A

Illustration of four and a half out of five red cross symbols shaded in, indicating a positive rating.

Feb. 27 — Postpartum mental health provider FamilyWell collected $4.3 million in seed funding, CEO Jessica Gaulton told Erin exclusively.

Why it matters: Postpartum depression is common but often overlooked in health care, so FamilyWell works directly with obstetrics clinics to offer its services to patients.

Go deeper: Read Tuesday's newsletter, plus Tuesday's Pro Rata on EQT closing its 10th flagship fund at its €22 billion hard cap.

3. FamilyWell snags funds for postpartum mental health

Illustration of a stork sitting at a desk with a laptop and cup of coffee

Feb. 28 — Redi Health, a medication adherence and patient engagement tech platform, raised a $14 million Series B, CEO Luke Buchanan told Aaron exclusively.

Why it matters: Early support with specialty drugs can address the 70% non-adherence rate that causes hundreds billions of dollars in losses.

Go deeper: Read Wednesday's newsletter, plus Wednesday's Pro Rata on Cox Enterprises agreeing to acquire OpenGov for $1.8 billion.

4. Redi nabs $14M for medication support

Illustration of a social media notification with a pill inside

Feb. 29 — The graffiti art-bedecked halls of the ViVE health care conference this week echoed with talk of GLP-1s, AI-powered doctor's assistants and cybersecurity.

Why it matters: All three topics are poised to make big changes to the way health care is currently delivered, Erin wrote.

Go deeper: Read Thursday's newsletter, plus Thursday's Pro Rata on payment giant Stripe's drawn-out IPO ambitions.

5. Overheard at ViVE

Panelists including Vida Health's Joe Murad, Amwell's Cynthia Horner, Amazon's Vin Gupta and Knownwell's Angela Fitch discuss GLP-1s at ViVE 2024. Photo: Erin Brodwin/Axios

Research associate Natalie Breymeyer here with your weekly digest.

☕ Natalie is looking forward to getting a rosemary latte at her favorite local cafe this weekend.

🙏 Thank you to Egan Millard for today's edits.

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March 01, 2024

1. Your week in biotech