Formation Bio’s Post

Despite the challenging fundraising environment, we are witnessing significant investments in AI-enabled drug discovery and development. Following Sanofi's recent partnership with OpenAI and Formation Bio (that some of you may remember as TrialSpark), the latter has taken a notable step by securing nearly $400M in their Series D funding round. This funding, aimed at enhancing their AI platform and in-licensing new product candidates, highlights the growing confidence in AI-driven healthcare innovations. This deal, much like the recent emergence of Xaira Therapeutics from stealth mode, highlights the latest fierce battleground among major VC funds. With A16Z backing Formation Bio, and Lightspeed and NEA investing in Xaira, the competition to lead in AI-powered biotech innovations is intensifying. Sequoia has even decided to back both ventures. #AIinHealthcare #BiotechFunding #Innovation #VentureCapital #FormationBio #XairaTherapeutics https://lnkd.in/eq6N2p4U https://lnkd.in/eNZ6vEtD

"𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲," notes Matthias Kromayer in the new print edition of transkript, reflecting on the evolving landscape in biotech and VC. As we celebrate industry resilience, the recent Novartis bid for MorphoSys is an example of how pharmaceutical giants seek external innovation to drive growth. This underscores a trend in the biotech sector, signaling new opportunities. 📈 👉🏼 Want to know more? Andera Partners, MIG Capital, and TVM Capital Life Science weigh in on what lies ahead in the biotech sector for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: https://lnkd.in/gCT_rktF #Biotech #Innovation #VentureCapital #MIGCapital

From Potential to Patients: Can this powerhouse of entrepreneurs unlock the true power of AI in drug development? ...The company, which has about 50 employees today at sites in Seattle and California, was co-founded by two of biotech’s biggest venture capitalists, Bob Nelsen of ARCH Venture Partners and Vik Bajaj at Foresite Labs, an incubator affiliated with Foresite Capital. Other investors include F-Prime Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, and SV Angel..... Scott Gottlieb Carolyn Bertozzi Alex Gorsky David Baker Tessier Lavigne Marc #AI #drugdiscovery #biotech #biotechnology #lifesciences #pharma #pharmaceuticals Xaira Therapeutics #biology #proteinscience #funding #financing #innovation #combininglearnings #acceleration

Have you applied for our next global gathering yet? This time we’ll be in Gothenburg with AstraZeneca discussing how we can make a meaningful impact on drug development with digital measures. Catch up with familiar faces from HealthXL virtual meetings as community members lead roundtables, panel discussions, and networking sessions. During these roundtables we’ll focus on: 💬 What big pharma and DHT vendors misunderstand about one another. 💬 The unresolved debate about build vs buy. 💬 When to collaborate and when to go it alone. 💬 How to measure the value without resorting to eNPV. Apply to attend ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eCY_MCX8 #healthxl2023 #drugdevelopment #digitalhealth #pharma #medtech #DTx

🆕 🤖 💊 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 The #AI in the #drugdiscovery and development race has been going for more than a decade now, and today we see all signs of the sector’s consolidation.  Over the last 6 years, there were more than 30 M&As events in this space. According to the BioPharmaTrend.com report some of the AI-focused deals in drug discovery, #biotech, and #clinicaltrials space included: the 2018 acquisition of Flatiron Health by Roche for $1.9 billion; the 2019 acquisition of Numerate by Valo Health; the 2020 acquisition of Haystack Biosciences by insitro the 2021 acquisition of Prescient Design by Genentech; the 2022 acquisitions of Zymergen by Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. for $300 million; the 2023 acquisition of InstaDeep by BioNTech SE for $549 million and double acquisition of Cyclica and Valence Labs by Recursion Pharmaceuticals for around $90 million combined -- to name just a few.  Some of the notable deals are summarized in the figure below: Read more: https://lnkd.in/dPSj-XDi

I came across this article on BioPharma Dive that provides an in-depth tracker for all the latest merger and acquisition deals shaping the landscape of our industry. Whether you're a professional in the field or simply intrigued by the remarkable advancements happening around us, this tracker is a must-bookmark link. From startups with groundbreaking innovations to established giants forging strategic partnerships, these deals have the potential to redefine how we approach healthcare, research, and drug development. The biotech and pharma sectors are experiencing an unprecedented wave of transformation, with collaborations and integrations paving the way for new therapies, treatments, and breakthroughs. Staying informed about these developments not only benefits your professional insights but also fuels your passion for the future of healthcare. Whether you're an industry insider, investor, researcher, or simply someone enthusiastic about the evolving health landscape, this tracker is your front-row seat to the dynamic world of biotech and pharma. #Biotech #Pharma #MergersAndAcquisitions #HealthcareInnovation #BioPharmaDive #IndustryInsights #M&A

The drug-making industry is seeing a growing disparity between biotech startups and big pharma firms as the former struggles to attract capital while the latter is outperforming the broader stock market. Incredible to read that the combined value of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk climbed from $350 billion in 2021 to $1.2 trillion today. While biotech is seeing some improvement, the ongoing dominance shows how important it is for upstarts like Calocurb to challenge the status quo and provide an alternative to the expensive and inaccessible weight-loss drugs provided by big pharma. #weightloss #obesity #biotech

📊 A new issue of our monthly “𝗙𝗖𝗙 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 & 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 – 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲” is now available. 🔍 Read the latest financing trends in venture capital in the European life science industry. Our monitor covers Biotech, Pharmaceutical, MedTech, and HealthTech companies. As of the end of October 2023, we identify the following current VC trends in Europe: - In 2023, overall Life Sciences funding has reached EUR 7,324m - Biotech received 42% of the total investment volume (-3% compared to the previous month) - Oncology dominates as the top indication in Biotech - Agomab Therapeutics (Belgium) has the highest transaction volume of EUR 94m in October, followed by Minervax ApS (Denmark) EUR 54m and AstronauTx (United Kingdom) EUR 54m - The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) (vehicle of the European Innovation Council, Belgium) dominates the Top 5 Investors (by deal volume), followed by Revival Healthcare Capital (United States) and Gilde Healthcare (Netherlands) - Top 5 Deals exceed EUR 130m each, the largest transaction amounted to EUR 683m in YgEia3 (United Kingdom) More here: https://lnkd.in/d57pvYgw #VentureCapital #LifeSciences #Biotech #Pharma #MedTech #HealthTech #InvestmentTrends #Europe #FCFMonitor #HealthcareInvestment #fcffoxcorporatefinance #financingspecialist #corporatefinance #investmentbanking #capitalmarkets

Quite a few have been saying this for quite some time. The opportunities are huge and the benefits for patients more so. What lies ahead is the ability for companies to bring these to market with the challenges they face. There belies the change required to look at this from a different model to what Pharma is used to. These are game changers, we need to change the game. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/grpiuZvS

The Pharma M&A landscape has shifted towards smaller and earlier stage Biotech deals. This presents an exciting opportunity for Pharma to tackle more complex disease areas and accelerate access to new technologies and treatments. However, Biotech deals come with many challenges, with a greater ratio of clinical to commercial assets, leaner infrastructure and innovative therapies with new delivery pathways. In this article, we provide an overview of the challenges that these deals present, and how Pharma can proactively overcome these hurdles to realise the full value. Click here to find out more and reach out to us if you like to discuss further: https://lnkd.in/gtry8F6R Christian K. Moldt Suzanne Ellis Sky Milch Thalita Marinho Johnathon Marshall André Sassmannshausen Tom Southwell Jess Abel Eleanor Craggs Katja Haug