Plus, news about Nicox, Soleus and Molecular Templates:
Akeso Biopharma’s $250M placement: The Hong Kong-based company, which is developing a closely watched bispecific antibody with Summit Therapeutics, now has $1.06 billion in cash on hand. — Jaimy Lee
SalioGen’s layoffs: Several employees posted on LinkedIn about layoffs at the Lexington, MA-based gene coding startup, though a SalioGen spokesperson declined to comment. The company this summer talked about plans to take its gene insertion platform into the clinic by the middle of 2025 for Stargardt disease. It last disclosed a $115 million Series B in January 2022. Two months ago, another gene insertion startup, Tome Biosciences, disclosed it let go of almost all of its employees. — Kyle LaHucik
Nicox, Soleus ink royalty and equity deal: The life sciences investor is acquiring the royalty to Vyzulta, a prescription eye drop, for $15 million, net of payments to Pfizer. It’s also investing $1.5 million in Nicox shares. Nicox now has runway into the third quarter of next year. — Jaimy Lee
Molecular Templates may wind down its business after failing to secure “strategic alternatives,” according to a securities filing. It is also laying off most of its workers and shutting down Phase 1 studies of two assets: MT-6402 and MT-8421. It had 62 full-time employees, as of Dec. 31. — Jaimy Lee