Money on the Move: Arsenal, ILiAD and a Hefty Gift to UCSD – BioSpace

Funding rounds this week will help Arsenal and ILiAD move forward with their lead programs, while a philanthropic donation will allow UC San Diego to advance its space-based stem cell research.

UC San Diegos Largest Single Gift Earmarked for Stem Cell, Regenerative Medicine Research

After receiving a $150 million donation from businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sandford, theUniversity of California, San Diego,announcedTuesday that it would use these funds to boost its stem cell and regenerative medicine research.

The stem cell studies, in particular, will be conducted aboard the International Space Station, allowing researchers to better understand the impacts of aging on stem cells and how this may prompt cells to become cancerous. Space-related research could yield better therapies not just for cancers but for diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons, as well.

Sanford also donated $100 million in 2013, allowing UCSD to establish the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. His donations also enabled UCSD to create the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion in 2019.

Arsenals Programmable Cell Therapies Win $220M in Series B

Arsenal Biosciencesclosedits Series B round of financing Tuesday and reported earnings of $220 million. The privately held company will use these proceeds to bolster research into its programmable cell therapies and deepen its pipeline of solid tumor candidates across a wide range of cancers. Arsenal gained new investors during the oversubscribed funding round, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Hitachi Ventures and Emerson Collective Investments.

Alongside its Series B round, the California-based company is preparing to initiate clinical studies for AB-1015, its lead candidate for ovarian cancer. Arsenal aims to clear an Investigational New Drug application and dose the first AB-1015 patient later this year.

Arsenal also welcomes Valentin (Vali) Barsan, M.D., attending pediatric oncologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine and an investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers, into its board of directors.

Class D Funding Pumps $42M into ILiADs Pertussis Shot

The company announced Tuesday that its recent Class D round of financingearnediLiAD Biotechnologies$42.8 million in proceeds. Family office hedge fund Knott Partners led the Class D round.

The New York biotech is channeling almost all of these funds into BPZE1, its next-generation pertussis vaccine candidate, establishing and improving the manufacturing process for BPZE1, as well as supporting its research and development.

In particular, the earnings will allow LiAD to proceed with a Phase IIb human challenge study to assess if BPZE1 can prevent the nasopharyngeal colonization ofBordetella pertussis.

To date, more than $100 million have already gone into the research and development of BPZE1. The candidate has cleared four human clinical studies and has been granted the FDAs Fast Track designation.

ILiAD also plans on using its earnings to power its current operations.

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Money on the Move: Arsenal, ILiAD and a Hefty Gift to UCSD - BioSpace