Aug. 4 Quick Takes: Forbion, Sofinnova lead F2G’s $70M financing

F2G Ltd. now has the capital it needs to bring the first novel antifungal mechanism to the market in over 20 years after raising $70 million in a growth equity round co-led by Forbion and Sofinnova Partners. The biotech is expecting data this year from a Phase IIb trial of olorofim to treat invasive aspergillosis and other rare mold infections, which could form the basis for an accelerated approval. But even if the company has to conduct a pre-approval Phase III study, according to Forbion’s Nanna Lüneborg, the deal should cover the company through to launch. “We think there’s a significant opportunity for the company to get the approval under the breakthrough designation in a more accelerated fashion,” she told BioCentury. “But it is not completely central to our business case. With this financing, the company is fully financed to complete the Phase III and to launch the drug.” The deal brings F2G’s total capital raised to about $265.5 million.

A newly launched company from ElevateBio LLC, George Daley and Boston Children’s Hospital will develop allogeneic immune cell therapies based on a platform developed in Daley’s lab that generates functionally mature immune cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The announcement of the as-yet-unnamed company coincides with a paper in Cell Stem Cell unveiling the platform. The company is the first to emerge from a deal between Boston Children’s and ElevateBio...