On December 22, 2020 Neomorph reported a $109 million Series A financing to advance a proprietary targeted protein degradation platform and specific programs (Press release, Neomorph, DEC 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234627533]). Deerfield Management Company established Neomorph earlier this year with scientific founders Phil Chamberlain, DPhil; Eric Fischer, PhD; Benjamin Ebert, MD, PhD; and Scott Armstrong, MD, PhD.

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The founding management team comprises pharmaceutical veterans with deep industry knowledge in targeted protein degradation drug discovery. Led by Dr. Chamberlain as President and Chief Scientific Officer, Neomorph has recruited top industry talent who have made major contributions to the field, including: Rohan Beckwith, PhD; Gang Lu, PhD; Mary Matyskiela, PhD; Ben Wen, PhD; and Samer Chmait.

Targeted protein degradation offers opportunities to develop novel therapeutics across a broad range of disease areas, including oncology. Strategies for protein degradation have been shown to solve critical problems in drug discovery by enabling researchers to target previously "undruggable" proteins that lack suitable binding pockets required for conventional drug activity.

Of particular note, Neomorph’s founders are responsible for several fundamental scientific developments in the "molecular glue" field. Molecular glues are types of molecules that encourage proteins to come together that normally would not interact. Neomorph plans to build on the collective pivotal research findings of the team to advance the technology of targeted protein degradation and solve critical problems in human health.

"Having the ability to achieve this milestone during these unprecedented times is a testament to Neomorph’s capabilities in the protein degradation and molecular glue space," said Dr. Fischer, who is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and an Independent Investigator at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "I am humbled to be a part of a team poised to make real strides in advancing the science. We believe we are in an excellent position to take our technology to the next level with the ultimate goal of delivering transformative treatments to patients in need."

"The Neomorph team has deep expertise in pharmacological approaches to targeted protein degradation and we are excited to be developing new therapeutics for patients with diseases that are currently difficult to treat," said Dr. Armstrong, who is also David G. Nathan, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Utilizing Deerfield seed funding and operational support since the first quarter of 2020, Neomorph has established a research site in San Diego at the Genesis Science Center in Sorrento Mesa, California. This Series A financing will position Neomorph to further develop its platform, advance lead programs, and expand the research team.

"As a drug strategy, protein degradation has enormous potential as it leverages the cell’s natural system for clearing unwanted or damaged proteins," said Deerfield Partner Cameron Wheeler, PhD. "We believe there continues to be a significant opportunity in protein degradation, in particular as it relates to the glue space. Neomorph is in an exceptional position and couldn’t have a more seasoned and knowledgeable team in place to interrogate and advance drug targets. The Company’s success could potentially lead to life-altering therapies."

Neomorph will benefit from a close collaboration with the Center for Protein Degradation at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. With its investment, this expands Deerfield’s commitment in the space given the firm’s longstanding partnership and collaboration with Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

On December 22, 2020 Skyhawk Therapeutics, Inc. and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) reported a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement aimed at the discovery and development of novel small molecules that modulate RNA splicing for the treatment of serious diseases (Press release, Skyhawk Therapeutics, DEC 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234626571]).

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"We believe that splice site modulation holds significant promise for the treatment of diseases which today have limited or no therapeutic options," said Mark Bunnage, D.Phil., Senior Vice President and Site Head, Boston Research at Vertex. "This collaboration brings Skyhawk’s innovative technology together with Vertex’s research and development experience; and fits perfectly with our strategy of investing in new technologies that will help us transform multiple serious diseases."

"We are excited to enter this collaboration with Vertex, a global leader in creating transformative medicines through serial innovation," said Bill Haney, Chief Executive Officer of Skyhawk. "In collaboration with the Vertex team, we look forward to using our SkySTAR platform to discover and develop novel small molecule therapeutics that modulate RNA splicing which have the potential to transform the lives of patients with serious diseases."

Under the collaboration agreement, Vertex will pay Skyhawk $40 million upfront. Skyhawk will grant Vertex options to exclusively license worldwide intellectual property rights to candidates discovered and developed under the collaboration that are directed to program targets. Following Vertex’s exercise of its options, Vertex will be responsible for further development and commercialization. Skyhawk is also eligible to receive up to $2.2 billion in potential milestone payments, as well as potential royalties on future sales.

On December 22, 2020 Sosei Group Corporation, a world leader in GPCR-focused structure-based drug design and development, and Captor Therapeutics, a European leader in targeted protein degradation, have entered a strategic technology collaboration focused on the discovery and development of novel small molecules that target the degradation of disease-associated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) (Press release, Captor Therapeutics, DEC 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234623171]).

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Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is an approach whereby the body’s natural process for degrading proteins is diverted using small molecule drugs to eliminate disease-causing proteins. The selective destruction of such proteins is expected to have multiple advantages over classical drugs such as inhibitors and antibodies for the development of novel therapeutics against a broad range of diseases.

Sosei Heptares and Captor initially will focus on identifying small molecules targeting a GPCR with a key role in a strongly validated signalling pathway implicated in gastrointestinal disorders. A further aim of the collaboration is to generate high resolution structural information around the GPCR-E3 ligase complex to enhance drug discovery efforts as well as provide proof of concept for targeted degradation discovery approaches with other GPCRs and other target classes.

The collaboration combines Sosei Heptares’ structure-based drug design (SBDD) platform, including its structural insights around the target, and its deep understanding of GPCR pharmacology, together with Captor’s proprietary TPD Optigrade, platform and extensive know-how and expertise in protein degradation.

Since 2017, Captor has raised approximately €40 million from private investors and non-dilutive funding sources, allowing it to create an advanced TPD platform and establish five pipeline programs in cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Captor’s Optigrade platform is focused on improving the selectivity and performance of first-generation degrader drugs. The principle of TPD is to use small molecules to commit the target protein into the E3 ligase-mediated degradation pathway thereby eliminating or reducing its activity. Molecular glues and bifunctional degraders are two different approaches to promote the direct binding of a specific E3 ligase to the target protein, and in each case, Captor has developed molecules with improved selectivity. These approaches can also be coupled with Captor’s novel E3 Ligase ligands (Lilis) which take advantage of Captor’s extensive library of E3 Ligase enzymes to create a new generation of degrader drugs.

Promising leads will be progressed using the partners’ complementary discovery skills, resources and development capabilities for subsequent development and commercialization.

Under the agreement, the companies will jointly conduct the discovery and development program and will co-own any resulting products, with Sosei Heptares supporting initial R&D costs. No further financial details are disclosed.

Miles Congreve, Chief Scientific Officer of Sosei Heptares, commented: "Targeted protein degradation is a promising approach to drug discovery that is gaining strong interest in the pharmaceutical industry. However, there has so far been limited progress in applying this exciting approach to membrane-associated proteins such as GPCRs. We can see a real opportunity to expand the reach of our SBDD and GPCR pharmacology expertise into this area; GPCRs themselves play key roles in disease yet are often difficult to drug. We are delighted to enter this collaboration with Captor, which has developed multiple novel approaches to identify small molecules that promote TPD. We are excited to explore the potential of this unique combination of technologies to develop a novel GPCR degraders platform, opening up so far intractable drug targets for us to address."

Michal J. Walczak, Chief Scientific Officer of Captor Therapeutics, added: "This is an important partnership for both Captor and Sosei Heptares. We believe that the successful application of targeted protein degradation to G Protein-Coupled Receptors will open new avenues in medicine and will maximize treatment opportunities for patients. Working with Sosei Heptares, a global leader in targeting GPCRs, is an exciting opportunity to create truly novel medicines and unlock TPD for GPCR targets, which will constitute another cornerstone validating the potential of TPD as an emerging drug discovery technology."

On December 22, 2020 SomaLogic, Inc., global leader in proteomic discovery and applications transforming biomedical discovery and clinical diagnostics, reported that it added $81M to its current funding round with investments from a number of additional investors, for a total Series A raise of $214M (Press release, SomaLogic, DEC 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234577552]). The funds raised in this round will facilitate improving, expanding and commercializing SomaLogic’s world-leading proteomic products in both the clinical and life science markets.

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The Series A financing round was led by noted life science investor Casdin Capital, with participation in the first November close from Farallon Capital Management, Foresite Capital, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Blue Water Life Science Advisors, Madryn Asset Management, Fiscus Ventures and Reimagined Ventures (affiliates of Magnetar Capital), Monashee Investment Management, Mossrock Capital, Soleus Capital and others.

In this second close, additional financial investors include Janus Henderson Investors, Redmile Group, Logos Capital, Revelation Partners, Ziff Capital Healthcare Ventures, Boston Millennia Partners and Millennium Management. Strategic investors from a number of premier organizations that span the current and future proteomics market include Novartis, Amgen, Intermountain Ventures and NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd. Cowen was an advisor in this effort.

SomaLogic’s SomaScan Platform technology offers biopharmaceutical and academic researchers unparalleled and reliable coverage of the proteome for revealing new biology, identifying new drug targets, and assessing the effects of current and potential new drug treatments. SomaLogic recently expanded the number of proteins measured by their platform from 5,000 to more than 7,000.

SomaLogic’s growing menu of clinically relevant SomaSignal tests promise a new paradigm of empowering clinicians and individuals to more effectively manage health in real time, with a powerful and first-in-class set of proteomics-based diagnostic tools.

"We are very excited to have these financing partners for the next phase of our strategic growth – a syndicate that unequivocally represents the best of those involved in supporting and growing life sciences tools and leading edge diagnostics companies, and several that represent the growing market for our products as well," said SomaLogic Chief Executive Officer Roy Smythe, M.D. "Proteomics will increasingly transform life sciences research and clinical care in ways previously unimagined and we are now positioned at the very forefront of that endeavor."

"This financing positions SomaLogic to continue to lead in the exploration of the proteome through its powerful technology platform," said Chief Investment Officer and Casdin Founder, Eli Casdin. "We’re excited to partner with the team to build off the decades of trailblazing science and validating partnerships with world-class collaborators to expand access to the technology and to drive value to the clinical and life science ecosystem."

Cowen served as sole placement agent to SomaLogic for the private placement, and Reed Smith LLP served as legal counsel for the transaction.

On December 22, 2020, Gritstone Oncology, Inc. (the "Company") reported that it entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with certain purchasers identified on the signature pages thereto (the "Purchasers"), pursuant to which the Company has agreed to sell to the Purchasers, in an unregistered offering, shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the "Common Stock"), and pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $110.0 million (the "Private Placement") (Filing, 8-K, Gritstone Oncology, DEC 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234573275]). The Private Placement is being conducted in accordance with applicable Nasdaq rules and priced at the "Minimum Price" (as defined in the Nasdaq rules).
The closing of the Private Placement occurred on December 28, 2020 (the "Closing"). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company agreed to sell and certain Purchasers agreed to purchase (i) an aggregate of 5,543,351 shares of Common Stock (the "Shares") at a per share purchase price of $3.34, the Nasdaq Official Closing Price of the Company’s Common Stock on December 22, 2020, and (ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 27,480,719 shares of Common Stock (the "Pre-Funded Warrant" and together with the Shares, the "Securities"). The Pre-Funded Warrants will expire when exercised in full, will have a nominal exercise price of $0.01 per share, and are immediately exercisable upon issuance. The exercise price and number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants will be subject to adjustment in the event of any stock dividends and splits, reverse stock split, recapitalization, reorganization or similar transaction, as described in the Pre-Funded Warrants.

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The Company has agreed to file a resale registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as practicable, and in all events within 30 days after the Closing, to register the resale of the Securities issued at the time of the Closing.
Cowen & Company LLC is acting as sole placement agent for the Private Placement.