Which biotechs have raised new VC financing this week?
Precondo CA
This week's biggest biotech venture financings include sizeable rounds for Sling Therapeutics, Circle Pharma, and RegCell.
Sling raises $123m for oral thyroid eye disease drug
Sling Therapeutics has closed a $123 million third round, led by Forbion, that will help to fund a phase 3 trial of its oral IGF-1R inhibitor linsitinib for thyroid eye disease (TED). If approved, the drug could compete with intravenous IGF-1R inhibitor therapies for TED like Amgen's Tepezza (tezepelumab) and Viridian Therapeutics' Lumvoa (veligrotug).
Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Sling has just started dosing patients in the pivotal ORBIT trial of linsitinib in TED, a rare autoimmune disorder in which the muscles and fatty tissues behind the eye become inflamed, causing the eyes to bulge outwards in a condition known as proptosis. ORBIT is expected to enrol approximately 130 participants, comparing a 150 mg twice-daily dose of the drug to placebo over 24 weeks.
In the previous phase 2b/3 LIDS trial, linsitinib met its primary endpoint of proptosis reduction in patients with moderate-to-severe TED, earning it a fast-track designation from the FDA. The project is ahead of its closest rival in the oral IGF-1R inhibitor for TED category, Khartis Therapeutics, which announced in August that it had raised $95 million in financing for an early-stage candidate due to start clinical testing next year.
Along with Forbion, the Series C saw participation from existing investor TPG Life Sciences Innovations and new investor Sectoral Asset Management.
Cancer start-up Circle closes $92.5m round
South San Francisco's Circle Pharma has added to its cash reserves with a $92.5 million fifth round, earmarked for clinical testing of its CID-165, billed as a first-in-class oral macrocyclic cyclin D1 RxL inhibitor for HR-positive breast cancer.
The Series E comes a couple of years after Circle raised $90 million in a Series D that, at the time, was pledged to CID-078, an orally active cyclin A/B RxL inhibitor that is now in phase 1 testing for solid tumours.
In a statement, Circle said that CID-165 has demonstrated "robust" anti-tumour activity in cyclin D1-driven preclinical cancer models, including in combination with CDK4/6-dual inhibitors, CDK4-selective inhibitors, and endocrine therapies. It intends to start human trials of the new drug in the first quarter of 2027.
The new round was led by The Column Group and included participation from other existing and new investors, including Nextech Invest, RA Capital Management, Euclidean Capital, and Eli Lilly.
Treg therapy specialist RegCell adds $66m for clinical trials
RegCell has closed a $66 million funding round – made up of a $44 million Series A financing and a $22 million grant from Japan's Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED – that will fund clinical testing of its regulatory T-cell (Treg) therapies for autoimmune diseases.
The Emeryville, California company's technology platform is based on the work of RegCell co-founder Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, who shared a Nobel Prize last year for the discovery of Tregs' role in maintaining immune tolerance. The new cash will go towards applications to start clinical testing of its first candidates and establish proof of concept in patients.
Led by Playground Global, the $44 million Series A was joined by other new backers, including Global Brain, Mitsui Chemicals, LG Technology Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Medical Incubator Japan, as well as several existing investors.
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