Sept. 13 Quick Takes: Acelyrin heads for Phase III with $300M round

A syndicate including crossover investors has backed Acelyrin Inc. with a new $300 million series C round led by Access Biotechnology, intended to fund Phase III development and regulatory submissions for izokibep to treat psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. Backed initially by Westlake Village Venture Partners, the Los Angeles-based biotech obtained rights in most of the world to the IL-17A inhibitor from Swedish biotech Affibody AB. Acelyrin raised $250 million in a series B round in November 2021, and intends to in-license more assets.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) priced $900 million in 1% convertible senior notes in a deal that follows the release of detailed data for patisiran from the APOLLO-B study, which showed the RNAi therapy demonstrating an improvement of 14.7 meters in the 6-Minute Walk Test (6-MWT) and lifted the company’s stock. Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) is looking to follow suit with an even larger note deal — it’s announced plans to raise $1 billion in convertible senior notes due 2027...