Dec. 16 Quick Takes: Neurogene raises $115M while BioAtla sees first-day pop; plus fundings for Atsena, MinervaX, Vivace, Arvinas

Megaround for gene therapy play Neurogene
Neurogene Inc. raised $115 million in a series B round led by EcoR1 Capital, with participation by existing investors Redmile Group, Samsara BioCapital and Cormorant Asset Management. New investors include BlackRock, Janus Henderson Investors, Casdin Capital, Avidity Partners, Ascendant BioCapital, Arrowmark Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments. Led by founder and CEO Rachel McMinn, the New York City gene therapy company plans to submit its first IND next year for its lead program, CLN5 for Batten disease; it has eight different programs overall.

BioAtla nears $1B valuation in first trading day
After raising $189 million in an upsized IPO, oncology company BioAtla Inc. (NASDAQ:BCAB) gained 72% in its first trading day Wednesday to attain a market cap just short of $950 million. The biotech sold 10.5 million shares at $18, a dollar above the high end of its proposed range; it had proposed to sell 9.4 million shares. BioAtla has two antibody-drug conjugates targeting ROR2 and AXL in Phase II testing for solid tumors. J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and Credit Suisse are its underwriters...