Start-up hopes to bring its first candidate, an NY-ESO-1-targeting off-the-shelf product, into the clinic in Q2. Astex and Cardiff University team up on novel therapies for neurodegenerative disease.

Public Company Edition: The last biopharma IPO in the US was on 17 February and none have been scheduled, so far, for March. Also, another SPAC merger is called off, Travere sells $275m worth of notes and Xeris secures $150m in new debt, while Ovid, Passage Bio and others are cutting jobs. 

Ventus Therapeutics raised a $140m series C while Endeavor Biomedicines brought in $101m in series B cash. Also, Twist Bioscience grossed $250m in a follow-on offering, BioMarin raised $110m when it sold a priority review voucher and Nuvectis, TC BioPharm launched IPOs. 

With COVID-19 cases about to top 12 million worldwide, efforts are continuing to identify the most promising drug candidates and to ensure that the rising star dexamethasone is made available to all.