Adcentrx, AstraZeneca, and AbbVie Make Major Strides in Cancer

Neuroscience with New Deals

Adcentrx's $51M in series A+ for cancer drug development

Adcentrx Therapeutics, a biotech company focusing on Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) therapies for cancer, has announced an expansion of its Series A+ financing to $51 million. This includes an additional $13 million over the initial $38 million raised in April 2023. The extension was supported by new investors, Quan Capital and Partners Investment, under the leadership of Eight Roads. 

Why it matters
These funds will accelerate the development of Adcentrx's lead program, ADRX-0706, and other pipeline programs. ADRX-0706, targeting Nectin-4 in various cancers, is in Phase 1a/b clinical trials. With expertise in protein conjugate therapeutics, the company aims to improve treatment options for life-threatening diseases. Lighthouse Capital advised Adcentrx on this financial extension.

Source: PRnewswire

AstraZeneca inks $247M AI oncology antibody design agreement

AstraZeneca has agreed to pay up to $247 million in a collaboration with Absci to design an anti-cancer antibody, marking the latest major deal in the AI-driven biotech sector. Absci, known for its AI capabilities in optimizing and designing antibodies, has recently made significant strides in the field, including a $650 million deal with Almirall and a $610 million agreement with Merck. 

Why it matters
The AstraZeneca partnership focuses on developing treatments using Absci’s technologies for antibody optimization and de novo antibody design. AstraZeneca’s Senior Vice President in oncology, Puja Sapra, highlighted the role of AI in enhancing the biologics discovery process. This collaboration underscores the growing trend of AI integration in biopharmaceutical research.

Source: Bioprocessintl

AbbVie acquires neuroscience company Cerevel Therapeutics for $8.7B

AbbVie is diving deeper into neuroscience and psychiatric disease treatment with its $8.7 billion acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics. This strategic move adds to AbbVie’s existing neuroscience portfolio, including a phase 2 schizophrenia treatment. AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez sees Cerevel's assets as a significant growth opportunity, anticipating multibillion-dollar sales potential. 

Why it matters
The acquisition highlights key Cerevel pipeline drugs like emraclidine, under trial for schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, and tavapadon, a late-stage Parkinson’s disease treatment candidate. Cerevel’s CEO Ron Renaud believes partnering with AbbVie will expand the reach of their novel therapies to more patients. AbbVie is set to acquire all outstanding Cerevel shares at $45 each in cash, marking a substantial advancement in their neuroscience and psychiatric disease focus.

Source: Genengnews

Startup of the week

Resolve Medical provides customers with optimization of their medical bills
Resolve Advocates Inc., founded in April 2019 and located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States, is a fintech startup operating in the healthcare and information services industry. With a seed funding of $3.6 million, Resolve specializes in reducing patients' medical bills. Using data-informed insights, the company acts as an intermediary between patients and healthcare providers or insurance companies, auditing, reviewing, and negotiating medical bills to find errors and reduce the owed amount. Its significant achievement includes saving patients a total of $40 million to date, with an average bill reduction of 60%. Resolve's services are pivotal in easing the financial burdens of medical expenses for many patients.