The Friday Five newsletter will focus on the top five - deals, pipeline, funding, and news of the week. The complete list is available here: Industry Updates

🤝Deals and Collaborations

1️⃣ Acacia Pharma agrees to be bought by Eagle Pharma In €94.7mn cash and stock deal. The agreement follows a comprehensive review and assessment of all strategic alternatives, including consideration of options to raise additional capital.

2️⃣ BigHat Biosciences completes its acquisition of Frugi Biotechnology. Acquisition to accelerate the scaling of BigHat’s AI/ML-enabled drug discovery platform.

3️⃣ Aurobindo Pharma buys Veritaz for $22.5mn to enter the Indian domestic formulation business. This acquisition vehicle will greatly help Aurobindo as a launchpad for marketing biosimilar and other products in India.

4️⃣ Eagle announces acquisition of Acacia in strategic good fit. The appeal to acquire Acacia lies in part in two products that have already achieved USFDA approval allowing for marketing in hospital settings.

5️⃣  Alembic Pharma acquires Aleor Dermaceuticals. Aleor Dermaceuticals has product offerings across cream, gel, ointment, shampoo, lotion, solutions, sprays, foams, microsponge, and nanoparticulate platform-based products.

⏫ Pipeline and Approvals

1️⃣ CANbridge Pharmaceuticals CAN108 New Drug Application/Orphan Drug Registration (NDA/ORD) for alagille syndrome accepted by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration

2️⃣ Santhera Pharmaceuticals and ReveraGen BioPharma have started a rolling new drug application submission for vamorolone in the U.S. The firms seek to market the Fast Track-designated therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

3️⃣ ImmunoGen ovarian cancer drug reaches BLA (biologics license application) milestone.

4️⃣ Ocuphire announces positive topline results from MIRA-3 Phase 3 FDA registration trial for Nyxol® in the reversal of mydriasis.

5️⃣ Pipeline Therapeutics receives IND clearance from FDA to initiate Phase 1b/2a study of PIPE-307 in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

💰 Funding

1️⃣ Spine BioPharma nets $13mn in Series B. Spine intends to use the funds to push forward the development of its lead program in degenerative disc disease.

2️⃣ mRNA firm InnoRNA raises $120mn in Series B. InnoRNA specializes in using mRNA and an LNP delivery system to develop drugs and vaccines.

3️⃣ XNK Therapeutics raises SEK 132mn to accelerate growth. XNK develops autologous NK cell-based products using its proprietary technology platform, company's lead investigational candidate drug is currently being evaluated in combination with Sanofi's anti-CD38 antibody Sarclisa (Isatuximab) in a Phase II clinical study in multiple myeloma.

4️⃣ ConcertAI raises $150mn for RWD (real-world data) Platform. ConcertAI is a developer of medical research tool suite intended to design and deliver care-based oncology research and data analytics.

5️⃣ Neuron23 closes $100mn Series C financing round. Neuron23 is an early-stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for genetically defined neurological and immunological diseases, will use proceeds in the lead programs against leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), a gene associated with Parkinson's disease and systemic inflammatory diseases.

📰 Interesting News

1️⃣ The next generation of COVID-19 antivirals. Drugmakers have an opportunity to launch drugs with better safety profiles and increased efficacy.

2️⃣ How snail venom could spawn new insulin and pain meds. University of Utah researchers found potential breakthroughs in somatostatin-analog pain relief, and fast-uptake insulin from the highly potent venom cone snails use to stun and sedate their prey.

3️⃣ Lung damage may persist long after COVID-19 pneumonia. According to a new study, some people recovering from COVID-19 pneumonia have CT evidence of damage to their lungs that persists a full year after the onset of symptoms.

4️⃣ Newly discovered drug candidate increased insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes. Experiments on human insulin-producing cells in the pancreas demonstrate that it is possible to increase insulin secretion by reducing the levels of this microRNA.

5️⃣ BIO-Europe Spring 2022: The Highlights. BIO-Europe Spring is one of Europe’s biggest biotech partnering events with discussion topics ranging from platform technologies and manufacturing to biotech investments