Flamingo Therapeutics BV

Kurma Partners has closed the first part of its latest biotech-focused fund, following a pair of M&A exits for drug developers backed by its third fund. The Paris-based investment firm closed on the first €140 million ($154 million) of its Biofund IV in July, managing director Rémi Droller told Endpoints News . Kurma aims to complete the fund at €250 million (about $276 million) sometime next year, it said Thursday morning. The first close nearly equals the total Kurma raised for the predecessor, Biofund III, which in 2020 had a final close of €160 million . In the past year, two companies backed by the third fund were acquired. Eli Lilly bought ADC startup Emergence Therapeutics and AstraZeneca bought late-stage hypoparathyroidism biotech Amolyt Pharma . Droller said Lilly snagged Emergence for $600 million, which he described as the “largest preclinical exit ever achieved in Europe.” Lilly had declined to disclose the purchase price at the time of the August 2023 buyout. Another company from the third fund, gene therapy maker Corlieve Therapeutics, was bought by uniQure in 2021. Kurma’s new capital adds to money raised by European biotech and life sciences investors this year, including Spanish group Invivo , Milan-based XGEN Venture , Earlybird Health in Germany, Dublin-headquartered Seroba , Venga Ventures in Austria and Barcelona-based Asabys Partners . “The investment activity in Europe is still very dynamic and positive, but also very selective,” Droller said. Part of the company’s portfolio typically involves creating companies and nurturing them, he said. Once its companies are mature enough to consider the public markets, though, Kurma advises its biotech startups to look at the Nasdaq. “We really advise and focus our companies on the US IPO only. The European market is not a market for biotech,” Droller said. “There is not a sufficient number of specialized investors, and even the specialized investors in Europe, they are more looking at investing in Nasdaq-listed companies. There’s more liquidity, more analyst coverage.” The fourth fund has already gone toward three companies and will back about 20 total in Europe, Droller said. About half of the fund will go toward already established biotechs and about half toward the creation of new companies, Droller said. “When we talk Europe, it’s also about repeat entrepreneurs,” said Kurma partner Amanda Gett-Chaperot, who joined the firm last year after eight years at Seventure Partners. “It’s really working with new entrepreneurs” and then supporting them again when they’re ready to start the next company. Kurma’s biotech team mainly invests in biologics and has supported a variety of therapeutic areas over the years. That includes Alzheimer’s at Asceneuron , severe swelling at Pharvaris , cancers at Flamingo Therapeutics and Tacalyx , and obesity at Zealand Pharma , among other disease areas. The 15-year-old firm also has diagnostics funds and a growth opportunities fund, which recently contributed to radioisotope producer PanTera . In 2021, Kurma co-founded Argobio Studio, an incubator that helps academic institutes in Europe move scientific discoveries toward a drug candidate that can serve as the foundation for a startup. Droller said there are about 15 projects in the studio, and each project gets about €4 to €5 million across two to four years. Kurma is part of the Eurazeo group. The large European investment firm is one of Kurma’s main investors. Other backers of Biofund IV include Bpifrance and Australia-based global biotech CSL.

LEUVEN, Belgium and STRASBOURG, France and PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Flamingo Therapeutics ("Flamingo") announced today its participation in the following upcoming investor conferences: Wells Fargo Annual Healthcare Conference, September 4-6, 2024, Boston, MA PA Life Sciences Future Conference, September 18-19, 2024, Philadelphia, PA 8th Annual Chardan Genetic Medicines Conference, September 30-October 1, 2024, NY 4th Annual Needham Private Biotech Company Virtual 1x1 Forum, October 8-9, 2024 During these events, Company management will participate in one-on-one meetings with investors. About Flamingo Therapeutics Flamingo is pioneering RNA-targeted therapies for oncology with a clinical-stage pipeline targeting undruggable transcription factors and long non-coding RNAs. Flamingo has an alliance with Ionis Pharmaceuticals and is supported by well-known biotechnology investors including Abrdn (formerly funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC), Andera Partners, Bpifrance Large Venture, Bpifrance through its FABS and Fonds Biothérapies Innovantes et Maladies Rares funds, Eurazeo - Kurma Partners, Perceptive Advisors, PMV, Pontifax, Sphera, and VIB. Flamingo has initiated a Phase II trial 'PEMDA-HN' evaluating the STAT3 targeting agent danvatirsen, in combination with pembrolizumab, in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). A Phase I investigator initiated trial study has also been initiated evaluating danvatirsen as a monotherapy and in combination with venetoclax in AML/MDS patients. For more information on Flamingo, please visit: PEMDA-HN (head and neck cancer) on clinicaltrials.gov: Danvatirsen monotherapy followed by combination with venetoclax in relapsed/ refractory AML and MDS on clincaltrials.gov: Please engage with us on LinkedIn: . Flamingo Media and Investor Contact: Amy Conrad Juniper Point (858) 366-3243 [email protected] SOURCE Flamingo Therapeutics

Under the terms of the deal, the companies will develop small molecule therapeutics targeting lncRNAs in oncology. PeopleImages.com – Yuri A via Shutterstock. Bayer has teamed up with startup biotech NextRNA Therapeutics to develop small molecules targeting long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in oncology. Under the terms of the deal, NextRNA can get up to $547m if all the milestones are reached, and the deal also included an undisclosed upfront payment. The companies will collaborate on two oncology programmes, the first involving a lncRNA-targeting small molecule in early preclinical development at NextRNA. For the second, NextRNA will pursue lncRNA targets identified by its platform, with Bayer having the option to choose one target for joint development. In 2022, Dana-Farber spinout NextRNA came out of stealth with $9.3m from a seed financing round and $46.8m from a Series A. This is the first high-profile pharma deal for the startup, which focuses on lncRNA-driven diseases. lncRNAs are RNA molecules over 200 nucleotides long that regulate gene expression without coding for proteins. They play key roles in various cellular processes, including those linked to cancer, such as tumour growth, metastasis, drug resistance and angiogenesis. See Also: Shortages improve for Lilly’s GLP-1 weight loss drugs, bumping sales forecast by $3bn Annexon gets grant for anti-c1q antibody fab fragments for inhibiting synapse loss A few companies have hopped on the lncRNA space, with strategies like antisense oligonucleotides, siRNAs, CRISPR/Cas9, small molecules and RNA aptamers being explored to modulate their function. In June 2023, Flamingo Therapeutics secured a €1.7m grant from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) to advance its lncRNA programme, FTX-001, that targets MALAT-1. The preclinical candidate is being developed in collaboration with Ionis Pharmaceuticals for a Phase I trial in solid tumours. The NextRNA deal comes weeks after Bayer announced that it has cut 3,200 jobs since the beginning of the year, in its Q2 2024 earnings call. At the start of this year, the German pharma giant said that it will roll out a new operating model, one designed to cut bureaucracy and speed up decision-making following which it is aiming to make savings of €2bn a year from 2026. In the announcement accompanying the deal, head of business development and licensing at Bayer’s pharmaceutical division Juergen Eckhardt said: “With NextRNA’s exceptional expertise and lncRNA platform, we aim to advance novel small molecule therapeutics against a new class of targets in oncology. This partnership further adds to our mission to build one of the most transformative and diversified oncology pipelines in the industry.” mRNA vaccine coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology (Or Clinical Trials Arena) is supported by Trilink . Editorial content is independently produced and follows the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Topic sponsors are not involved in the creation of editorial content. Free Whitepaper mRNA capping: low cost, high reward Are you aware of the latest mRNA capping techniques? The success of mRNA-based Covid vaccines has seen the technology boom in popularity – but capping is an essential part of the manufacturing process, and pharmaceutical firms face a range of choices on how to do it. This free whitepaper assesses differences in price, time, complexity and availability for the methods on offer – and provides essential insights on TriLink’s trailblazing CleanCap® approach. Fill in your details to find out more. Thank you. You will receive an email shortly. Please check your inbox to download the Whitepaper. By Trilink Thematic By downloading this Whitepaper, you acknowledge that GlobalData may share your information with Trilink Thematic and that your personal data will be used as described in their Privacy Policy