Furosemide

Plus, news about Vaxxas, Mid-Atlantic BioTherapeutics, Incyclix Bio and Invivyd: 🫀 MannKind to buy scPharmaceuticals: The Connecticut biopharma is paying $5.35 per share upfront in cash, plus a potential milestone payment of up to $1.00 per share. The deal gives scPharmaceuticals an equity value of $303 million upfront or $360 million total if the CVR is achieved. The FDA in 2022 approved scPharmaceuticals’ drug-device product Furoscix for certain types of heart failure. MannKind said it would have to pay about $81 million to get out of a credit facility that scPharmaceuticals had inked with Perceptive Advisors . Blackstone is helping fund the acquisition as part of an amendment to a financing agreement earlier this month. MannKind’s stock $SCPH was down about 5% on Monday morning. — Kyle LaHucik 🔬There’s a new RNA medicines biotech: Arnatar Therapeutics, a San Diego biotech founded by former Ionis leaders, launched Monday with a pipeline of RNA medicines for cardio metabolic, liver, kidney and CNS diseases. The company unveiled a $52 million Series A, though it said the round closed last year. Its candidates include Phase 1-stage ART101 for hypertension and ART4, an antisense oligonucleotide for Alagille syndrome that’s been granted orphan and rare pediatric disease designations. — Kyle LaHucik 🩹 Vaxxas raises about $58M for its needle-free vaccine tech: The biotech secured about 90 million Australian dollars to boost production of its high-density microarray patch for “market readiness.” The needle-free vaccine technology has so far been administered to over 750 participants in clinical trials and has shown robust immune response, according to Vaxxas. The funding marks one of this year’s largest financings for a private biotech in Australia. — Alexis Kramer 💰 Mid-Atlantic BioTherapeutics to get up to $50M: Legend Innovation Life Science Fund said Saturday that its planned investment will support Mid-Atlantic’s development of new “anti-aging” drugs for neurological diseases and cancer. Mid-Atlantic should expect the first funding tranche in the third quarter of this year before it begins a Phase 3 trial for its viral encephalitis drug in 2026. — Alexis Kramer 💸 Incyclix Bio extends Series B with $11.3M: The company is working on a CDK2 inhibitor that’s headed to a Phase 1/2 trial, with the help of the new funding. The extension’s investors include Eshelman Ventures, Eli Lilly, Pharmacosmos and Cape Fear BioCapital. — Jaimy Lee 🏷️ Invivyd ended up raising $57.5 million in its public offering, up from the $50 million it sought. — Jaimy Lee

Aiming to establish a foothold in the cardiorenal space, MannKind is acquiring scPharmaceuticals for up to $360 million. Investors didn't seem to find the business move favourable, however, as MannKind's shares slipped about 4% on Monday. Under the deal, MannKind will pay $5.35 in cash per share of scPharmaceuticals — about a 10% premium over the latter's close on Friday — plus one non-tradable contingent value right that's worth up to $1 per share, based on regulatory and sales milestones.Additionally, to honour its recent $500-million financing agreement with Blackstone, MannKind will be responsible for repaying scPharmaceuticals' 2024 debt facility with Perceptive Advisors and buying out the firm's rights to receive revenue payments, which is estimated to total about $81 million.The acquisition, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will give MannKind the diuretic Furoscix (furosemide injection). The on-body infuser is already FDA-approved in adults with chronic heart failure and chronic kidney disease, and a supplemental application to reduce treatment time from hours to seconds is scheduled for submission this quarter. Furoscix brought in $27.8 million in sales for the first half of the year, though the partners estimate that the total addressable market opportunity for the injection could be more than $10 billion in the US. The product adds a cardio programme to MannKind's commercial portfolio, which includes Afrezza, an inhaled insulin powder approved for type 1 and 2 diabetes, and V-Go, an insulin delivery patch. "This acquisition expands our patient-centred brands and highlights MannKind’s dedication to delivering innovative therapies for cardiometabolic and orphan lung diseases," said CEO Michael Castagna. "With multiple anticipated product launches and indication expansions, we expect to continue to diversify our revenue streams and accelerate our double-digit growth goals over the next decade."