Novartis recently announced the acquisition of Mariana Oncology, an emerging biotech focused on advancing a radioligand therapeutics platform, for up to $1.75 billion in upfronts and future milestones. The capstone of its three short years of operations, this acquisition represents the second largest preclinical M&A deal in history, and the largest ever completed by Novartis.  It also represents a shift in radioligand therapy deal activity: a true platform acquisition, rather than one focused on a late-stage asset. Mariana’s acquisition and the incredibly exciting radioligand therapy ..read more

By Arthur O. Tzianabos, PhD, CEO of Lifordi Immunotherapeutics, as part of the From the Trenches feature of LifeSciVC As the biotech industry continues to pick up steam, I have been getting a number of phone calls from folks in my network who are looking for CEO roles and from recruiters who are looking to hire good people.  It got me thinking (again) about leadership styles I have encountered in my 30+ years in biotech.  Many people aspire to be a CEO or a biotech leader someday, as if the title somehow magically confers insight and great leadership skills.  However, there is n ..read more

Venture creation in biotech is witnessing a sustained contraction. After the pandemic bubble’s over-indulgence, the venture ecosystem appears to have reset its pace of launching new startups. According to the latest Pitchbook data, venture creation in biotech hit its slowest quarterly pace in eight years during 1Q 2024.  With just over 60 new biotechs raising their first round of financing, the sector’s company formation activity has slowed 50-60% from its historic peak in 2021. Overall, this contraction is a strong positive sign of healthy discipline, and should be good for the sector’s ..read more

By Haojing Rong and Aimee Raleigh, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC This blog post is the second in a series on key diligence concepts and questions. If you missed the intro blog post yesterday, click here. For this deeper look at pharmacology, we will be focusing on a theoretical small molecule inhibitor and building out the different “clues” to look for as you pull together a PK/PD/efficacy relationship thesis. That said, this post is only scratching the surface of a very expansive space – for those interested in learning more, we link to a handful of resources that may ..read more

By Aimee Raleigh, Principal at Atlas Venture, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Ever wondered what goes into diligencing a new idea, program, company, or platform? While each diligence is unique and every investor will have their own approach, below are some considerations that may be more “typical” in a diligence. I will emphasize the obvious disclaimer before diving in – this framework is merely meant to be exemplary and there are always nuances and exceptions unique to each diligence. Additionally, for illustrative reasons this is geared towards a single target / product ..read more

By Mike Cloonan, CEO of Sionna Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC An insightful piece on this blog following the JPM healthcare conference noted the “refreshing burst of enthusiasm” in the biotech sector. It’s true that venture funds raised significant capital despite numerous challenges over the past two years. And many are looking for the right investments now. We are turning a corner, and optimistically that means more private companies will be able to secure the resources they need to advance groundbreaking research through critical value inflection points ..read more

Today IFM Therapeutics announced the acquisition of IFM Due, one of its subsidiaries, by Novartis. Back in Sept 2019, IFM granted Novartis the right to acquire IFM Due as part of an “option to buy” collaboration around cGAS-STING antagonists for autoimmune disease. This secures for IFM what is a rarity for a single biotech company: a liquidity hat trick, as this milestone represents the third successful exit of an IFM Therapeutics subsidiary since its inception in 2015. Back in 2017, BMS purchased IFM’s  NLRP3 and STING agonists for cancer.  In early 2019, Novartis acquired IFM Tre f ..read more

By Aoife Brennan, former CEO of Synlogic, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC I have recently completed a turn around the biotech sun: a seven-year assignment at Synlogic that ended this year when an early readout of our Phase 3 program indicated that it was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint. Did I dream of a different outcome for the company – a therapeutic that helped thousands of patients and provided a generous return for investors and employees? Absolutely. Do I consider the past seven years to have been a waste of time? Absolutely not. One of the things that attract ..read more

By Robert Clarke, CEO of Kinaset, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC As I write, I am on the train back from New York after watching my son’s NYU basketball team play in the 2024 D3 Men’s Basketball Tournament. March Madness D3 style is a great affair as just like D1 there are 64 teams vying for a title (out of 436 D3 vs 351 D1). Alas, NYU ran into a tough Tufts team in the second round and lost a tight one 65-62. That said, all in all a great season with 21 total wins and first UAA conference championship in 30 years. Thanks for letting me share my Dad fandom. D3 March madn ..read more

By Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, CEO of Vigil Neuroscience, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Patients and their care partners are at the center of our work in the life sciences industry – but at what point during the drug development process should companies start to engage these key stakeholders? At Vigil, our answer was simple: from the beginning. Our lead asset is in development for adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP), a rare disease with no approved treatments, so we have prioritized incorporating patient and care partner voices ..read more