Dec. 15 Quick Takes: Enlaza debuts with $61M, covalent targeting biologics platform

Southern California-based Enlaza Therapeutics Inc. raised a $61 million seed round led by Avalon Ventures, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Frazier Life Sciences and Samsara BioCapital, to develop biologics that form covalent bonds with targets to increase target occupancy while limiting systemic exposure. The technology, developed in the lab of University of California San Francisco (UCSF) professor Lei Wang and described in a 2020 Cell study, uses unnatural amino acids to enable covalent bond formation between a compound and its target, and can be applied to a diverse range of modalities including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and targeted radiotherapies. Avalon’s Sergio Duron and Sandy Madigan are co-founders, with Duron serving as CEO and Madigan president and CBO; the company will initially focus on oncology.

MinervaX ApS raised €22 million ($23 million) in an equity round co-led by Trill Impact Ventures and Pureos Bioventures to fund a Phase II development program of a Group B streptococcus vaccine, making it one of the most advanced candidates for the maternal vaccine. The company also announced a €50 million ($53 million) loan. Multiple vaccines are used in pregnant women, but no vaccine has been systematically tested premarket in the population. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) also has a Group B streptococcus vaccine in Phase II testing, which is designed to prevent bacterial transmission to newborns during birth...