Hub-and-spoke firm Osanni raises $190m, and other financings

Our latest roundup of venture capital financings in the biotech sector includes rounds for Osanni Bio, Bionyra, Serapha, Nura Bio, and Oblenio.

Osanni raises $190m for multiple therapeutics, and biotechs

San Francisco-based development-stage therapeutics company, Osanni Bio, has been thrust into the spotlight this week with an impressive Series B, raising $190 million, that will fund the development of several drug candidates across ophthalmology, cardiology, and other indications such as oncology.

The company is also looking at potentially setting up dedicated companies to develop the assets, led by an undisclosed, early clinical-stage candidate for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in a move that follows the 'hub-and-spoke' model that has been pioneered by companies like PureTech Health, Roivant, and BridgeBio Pharma.

The round was led by Patient Square Capital with existing investors Horowitz Group, Invus Opportunities, and the Retinal Degeneration Fund joining in. Chief executive Michael Ackermann, formerly of Stanford University, said the cash will "accelerate our model for innovating new medicines and passion for the patients we aim to serve."

Bionyra makes debut with $165m for I&I pipeline

Franco-US startup Bionyra Pharma, co-founded by Sofinnova Partners and former Sanofi R&D executive Dr Frédéric Marrache, has completed an over-subscribed first round financing, drawing in $165 million for a pipeline of antibody-based drugs for immunology and inflammation (I&I) disorders.

It has emerged with three programmes, two of which have already started clinical development. BYN-002 is an antibody directed at TL1A, a hot target in I&I R&D, and is in phase 1 testing, along with BYN-003, a bispecific antibody against TL1A and IL-23p19. Rounding out the trio is BYN-001, an anti-IL-25 antibody being prepared for human trials with potential in the treatment of atopic dermatitis and other disorders characterised by type 2 inflammation.

The Series A was co-led by Jeito Capital and Sofinnova Partners, with Arkin Bio, Sanofi Ventures, Sixty Degree Capital, Vives Partners, and Apollo Health Ventures also taking part.

Serapha Bio takes flight with a drug for rare disorder AATD

Another debutante this week is Serapha Bio, which has raised $138 million in a Series A co-led by RA Capital Management and RTW Investments. That is only the first stage of a plan to list on the Nasdaq – via a reverse merger with Boundless Bio – that should add another $92 million to the pot when it finalises.

The combined company will operate under the Serapha name and will be dedicated to the development of< SERP-01, an in vivo base-editing candidate targeting PiZZ mutations licensed from China's YolTech Therapeutics, as a treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The inherited disorder causes life-threatening pulmonary emphysema, leading to irreversible destruction of tissues in the lungs. YolTech is also eligible to receive regulatory and commercial milestones totalling over $2 billion.

Seraph is planning to list on the Nasdaq under the AATD ticker if the merger goes through, and said the resulting cash will fund development of SERP-01 through phase 2 and the start of phase 3.

ALS therapy developer Nura Bio raises $73.8m

South San Francisco's Nura Bio is planning to spend a $73.8 million second round on a pair of small-molecule SARM1 inhibitors with potential in the treatment of devastating neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Lead candidate NB-4746 is in a phase 1b/2a study, which recently started dosing ALS patients, while follow-up candidate NB-9042 is now in first-in-human safety testing. SARM1, a protein that seems to be involved in the degeneration of nerve fibres in ALS, has emerged as a novel drug target that is also being pursued by the likes of Eli Lilly – via its acquisition of Disarm Therapeutics in 2020 – and Sironax.

The Series B – led by The Column Group, with participation from Euclidean Capital, Samsara BioCapital, and Sanofi Ventures – comes after Nura Bio raised $68 million in a first round financing in 2024, which took the total raised by the company at that point to $140 million.

Pfizer backs Oblenio Bio's $62m Series B

Finally this week, Oblenio Bio has pocketed $62 million in a Series B led by Pfizer Ventures that will help it to start clinical testing of LBL-051, a trispecific BCMA, CD19, and CD3 targeting T-cell engager (TCE) licensed from China's Leads Biolab, later this year.

Oblenio is planning to develop LBL-015 for a broad range of autoimmune diseases, saying that the drug can stimulate a "broad immune system reset" by depleting peripheral and tissue B-cells and plasma cells.

Along with Pfizer's venture capital arm, new investors Deep Track Capital and GV, alongside founding investor Aditum Bio, participate in the round.

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