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The week that was

Other deals of the week

Pipeline picks

Quote of the week

🤨 Why biotech has a lot riding on Trump's FDA pick

The industry is watching for hints about how Heidi Overton would lead the agency through a defining era for the sector.

💊 Earendil and Genentech ink $1.5B cancer deal

The deal marks Earendil's latest collab with Big Pharma, following major autoimmune drug licensing deals with Sanofi.

💰 BigHat Biosciences raises $75M Series C

The financing will help BigHat become one of the few AI drug discovery companies with a candidate in the clinic.

🍦 Scoop: Ardan Equity investing in Clinical Ink at $500M-plus TEV

Clinical Ink was marketed on more than $100 million in revenue and about $30 million of EBITDA.

🦾 How Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo is using AI to develop new drugs

Proponents of artificial intelligence have long held high hopes for AI drug discovery, but the industry has not yet delivered any major breakthroughs.

💸 Envisagenics inks $1B-plus cancer deal with Boehringer

The deal underscores Big Pharma's appetite for AI-powered drug discovery platforms that can uncover targets traditional approaches may miss.

🔬A Durham startup making advanced microscopes raises $25M

The company's microscopes are designed to increase the scale and speed that labs are able to examine biological samples and glean insights from them.

🧪 Exclusive: Biolevate raises €30M for pharma SaaS

Investors continue to back AI-assisted drug discovery and pharma plays.

📈 Iambic files to go public, test investor appetite for AI drug discovery

Iambic Therapeutics filed for an IPO Monday as investors shift their focus from faster development to better drugs.

💉 Novo targets monthly obesity dosing with $1.3B Nanexa deal

As obesity pipelines grow more crowded, drugmakers are looking for new ways to differentiate.

Why biotech has a lot riding on Trump's FDA pick

Earendil and Genentech ink $1.5B cancer deal

Scoop: Ardan Equity investing in Clinical Ink at $500M-plus TEV

How Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo is using AI to develop new drugs

Envisagenics inks $1B-plus cancer deal with Boehringer

A Durham startup making advanced microscopes raises $25M

Exclusive: Biolevate raises €30M for pharma SaaS

Iambic files to go public, test investor appetite for AI drug discovery

Novo targets monthly obesity dosing with $1.3B Nanexa deal

1 big thing: The week that was

Illustration of a beaker featuring dollar signs in place of numbers being held by a robot hand

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Enveda, a Boulder, Colo.-based drug discovery startup that focuses on medicinal plants, raised $311m in Series E funding at a $2b valuation. Catalio led, joined by Durable Capital Partners, Iconiq, Lightspeed, Surveyor Capital, T. Rowe Price, Digitalis Ventures, Alderline Group and insiders Baillie Gifford, Premji Invest, FPV Ventures, True Ventures, Kinnevik, Dimension, Lifeforce Capital, and Lux Capital. Go deeper

Precision Neuroscience, an NYC-based brain-computer interface startup, raised $250m at around a $1b valuation. The Ackman Oxman Institute and Pershing Square led, alongside an undisclosed life sciences fund. Other backers include Duquesne Family Office, B Capital Group, ARK Invest, Invus, Mubadala Capital, Mirae Asset Capital, Korea Investment Partners, Hitachi Ventures, and JSL Health Capital. Go deeper

Basecamp Research, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of AI models for therapeutic designs, raised $140m in Series C funding. S32 led, joined by Anthropic's Anthology Fund, Catalio, European Tech Collective, Firebrand River Capital, Inception Fund, King Philanthropies, NATO Innovation Fund, Nvidia, PostScriptum, Redalpine, The Rockefeller Foundation, Singular, Sovereign AI, and True Ventures. Go deeper

HighLife, a French developer of transcatheter treatments for heart diseases, raised $90m from Andera Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Supernova Invest, Mérieux Equity Partners, European Investment Bank, BNP Paribas Développement, Capricorn Partners, Critical Path Ventures, Pro Benefis Familiae, and SPRIM Global Investments. Go deeper

Anaconda Biomed, a Spanish developer of thrombectomy catheters, raised $56m. Omega Funds led, joined by FOCO, Asabys, Ysios Capital, and CDTI. Go deeper

Biolevate, a Paris-based provider of pharma SaaS, raised €30m in Series A funding. Raise France and Orange Ventures led, joined by EQT Ventures, MSD Global Health Innovation Fund, and Station F. Go deeper

Kasvu Therapeutics, a Finnish developer of neuroplastogens for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, raised €30m in Series A funding. Hadean Ventures led, joined by Tesi, Innovestor Life Science Fund, Finnish Drug Discovery Center, Stephen Industries, Nordic Science Investments, and Helsinki University Funds. Go deeper

Polyphron, a developer of human tissue models for drug development, raised $20m in seed funding. Quiet Capital led, joined by Gradient, Haystack, and Compound. Go deeper

Dialybrid, an Italian medical device startup, raised €15m in Series A funding. XGEN Venture led, joined by CDP Venture Capital. Go deeper

AVS Bio, an Arlington Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired Biorbyt, a U.K. supplier of bio-reagents, antibodies, proteins, and other biomaterials for life science research. Go deeper

ADARx Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based developer of siRNA therapies, set IPO terms to 21.88m shares at $15-$17. It would have a $1.64b market cap at the midpoint, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (ADRX). The Phase 3 company raised around $350m from firms like OrbiMed (30.8% pre-IPO stake), Lilly Asia Ventures (15.7%), SR One (11.1%), and Bain Capital Life Sciences (6.8%). Go deeper

City Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of RNAi medicines, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (CTY) and had raised $240m from Arch Venture Partners (35% pre-IPO stake), Fidelity (10%), Invus (8.4%), Viking Global Investors (5.2%), Sofinnova Investments, Casdin Capital, NYBC Ventures, Slate Path Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Regeneron Ventures, and AN Ventures. Go deeper

Frazier Life Sciences Acquisition II, a biotech SPAC, filed for a $75m IPO. Go deeper

TRex Bio, a South SF-based developer of precision immunoregulatory medicines, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (TRXB) and has raised over $220m from firms like Eli Lilly, Janus Henderson, Balyasny Asset Management, Affinity Asset Advisors, Alexandria Venture Investments, Avego BioScience Capital, Delos Capital, J&J Innovation, Pfizer Ventures, Polaris Partners, and SV Health Investors. Go deeper

Bayer agreed to sell the rights to cancer drug Stivarga to Germany's Gruenenthal for up to €375m. Go deeper

Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX) agreed to acquire Germany-based radiopharmaceutical biotech ITM Isotope Technologies Munich ​for $1.65b upfront and $700m of possible earnouts. Go deeper

Amberstone Biosciences, an Irvine, Calif-based oncology biotech, signed a $440m collaboration deal with Shanghai Henlius Biotech to develop T-cell engagers for solid tumors. Go deeper

Atavistik Bio, a Cambridge, Mass.-based hematology biotech, and Roche signed a $1.9b research collaboration to develop novel medicines for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. Go deeper

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Beijing-based InnoCare have signed a deal worth up to $3.35b to develop new drugs for undisclosed diseases. Go deeper

Bradley L. Campbell, former Amicus Therapeutics CEO, was named CEO of Travere Therapeutics. He replaces Eric Dube. Go deeper

Jody Staggs, former SWK Holdings Corp. CEO, was named CEO of Cedar Health Research, a Dallas clinical research site network. Go deeper

2. Other deals of the week

Illustration of a brain made up of different sizes and types of pink pills.

🥶 Pharma bosses warn European leaders future investment at risk (Bloomberg)

💲Novo aims to diversify with new pipeline assets and bolt-on deals (Endpoints News)

👩‍🔬 Drugmakers, biotech VCs show 'reinvigorated' interest in osteoporosis treatments (STAT)

3. Pipeline picks

Illustration of a view through a microscope showing pathogens made from binary 0s and 1s. 

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

"President Trump's direction for me in this role, should I be confirmed, is to 'go fast.' Slow and prohibitive requirements for cutting-edge therapies at the FDA means investment is increasingly flowing to China, who has found ways to do things faster and cheaper." 

September 26, 2026

1 big thing: The week that was