Venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering has unveiled Laronde, a startup platform company developing a novel, proprietary form of RNA they are calling “endless RNA” (eRNA). eRNA can be programmed to express therapeutic proteins inside the body. Flagship initially committed $50 million to support the development of Laronde’s platform and initial pipeline of new medicines. eRNA […]

Ginkgo Bioworks and Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC, have agreed to a business combination that will result in Ginkgo becoming a publicly-listed company. The transaction implies a pre-money equity valuation for Ginkgo of $15.0 billion, and is expected to provide up to $2.5 billion of gross cash […]

Charles River Laboratories has announced plans to acquire Vigene Biosciences, a Maryland-based gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing viral vector-based gene delivery solutions. The purchase price is expected to be $292.5 million in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. In addition to the initial purchase price, the transaction includes contingent additional payments of up to $57.5 […]

Moderna is making new funding commitments to increase supply at its owned and partnered manufacturing facilities, which it expects will increase global 2022 capacity to up to 3 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. The company will use its cash balance to fund these investments. These investments allow for a doubling of drug substance manufacturing […]

Gene therapy company Affinia Therapeutics has closed a $110 million Series B financing. Affinia Therapeutics will use the proceeds to further develop its proprietary gene therapy platform, advance programs into the clinic, and for general corporate purposes. “Since founding the company, we have had the interest of leading biotech investors as well as strategic partners […]