These 22 Biotechs Collectively Raised $3.3 Billion in Q1 2024. What Do They Have to Offer?

The biotech industry is experiencing a big wave of investment, similar to the high levels seen between 2020 and 2021.

In just the last three months, there's been a rush of big money deals, with companies like Engrail Tx, Clasp Tx, Capstan Tx, and Mirador Tx announcing large funding amounts of $157 million, $150 million, $175 million, and $400 million, respectively.

Since the beginning of the year, 22 biotech startups have raised over $100 million each (see table below).

Investors are showing interest in companies that are close to or in the middle of clinical trials, which means they're testing their treatments on people. For instance, out of the 22 biotech startups with significant rounds in 2024, only 6 are in the preclinical stage.

Another quite expected insight seen from the table is that the majority of them, 10 companies, are focused on oncology as the key area.

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This shift towards funding more mature companies suggests investors are looking for safer bets, learning from past investments in very early-stage projects that didn’t pan out.

In any case, the current biotech investment climate is great news for companies working on cutting-edge science, especially those working on new treatments that need a lot of money to start up, like cell and gene therapies.

Now, let’s have a look at some of the companies on the list, focusing mostly on those with tech platforms or AI-driven approach:

Alumis

Alumis focuses on developing oral therapies for immune-mediated diseases, using a precision approach to target immune dysfunction. Their pipeline includes therapies designed to optimize clinical outcomes through careful selection of targets, molecules, indications, and patient groups.

Recently, Alumis announced a $259M Series C financing to advance its clinical-stage pipeline, including ESK-001, an oral allosteric TYK2 inhibitor for plaque psoriasis, which showed positive data in a Phase 2 trial.

This March, Alumis announced positive results from a Phase 2 trial of ESK-001 for plaque psoriasis at the AAD Meeting, showing high efficacy and safety, with Phase 3 trials planned for 2H 2024.

Capstan Therapeutics

Capstan Therapeutics is a biotechnology company founded in 2021, based in California, USA. It is dedicated to advancing in vivo cell reprogramming through targeted lipid nanoparticles, focusing on developing therapeutics for a broad spectrum of diseases.

Capstan's core platform technology specializes in expanding the therapeutic potential of in vivo RNA-based therapies through proprietary targeted delivery systems.

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Topics: Startups & Deals