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Biotech Briefs: Royalty Pharma, Mentari Therapeutics, Crystalys Therapeutics & More 

The latest from small and Emerging Pharma companies featuring Royalty Pharma, Neurimmune, Mentari Therapeutics, Crystalys Therapeutics, Jupiter Neurosciences, PharmAla Biotech, Scribe Therapeutics, Braveheart Bio and BlossomHill Therapeutics. 

For news on the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies, see Global Briefs. 

* Royalty Pharma Acquires Royalty Interest in Neurimmune’s Cardio Drug in $425-M Deal
* Mentari Therapeutics in $200-M Private Placement To Support Biologic-Based Migraine Drugs
* Crystalys Therapeutics Raises $130 M to Support Late-Stage Gout Drug 
* Jupiter Neurosciences, PharmAla Biotech in $100-M Neuropsychiatric Drug Pact 
* Scribe Therapeutics Announces $96 M IPO for CRISPR-Based Cardio Drug 
* Braveheart Bio Files for IPO To Support Late-Phase Cardio Drug  
* BlossomHill Therapeutics Files for IPO To Support Early-Stage Small-Molecule Cancer Drugs

Royalty Pharma Acquires Royalty Interest in Neurimmune’s Cardio Drug in $425-M Deal 
Royalty Pharma, a New York-based investment firm buying bio/pharmaceutical royalties and a funder of life sciences innovation, has acquired a portion of the royalty interest in AstraZeneca’s cliramitug, a cardiovascular drug, from Neurimmune, a Zurich, Switzerland-based bio/pharmaceutical company, for up to $425 million ($125 million upfront and $300 million in milestone payments). 

Cliramitug is a Phase III TTR-fibril-depleting antibody designed to remove amyloid deposits in patients with transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), a rare disease resulting in misfolded proteins that accumulate in the heart. Cliramitug is currently in a Phase III trial with results expected in 2028. 

Under the agreement, Royalty Pharma will provide Neurimmune up to $425 million, including $125 million upfront, in exchange for a 3% to 4% royalty on worldwide net sales of cliramitug. In the first quarter of 2027, Royalty Pharma will provide another $125 million in cash to Neurimmune, with the remaining $175 million payable based on the achievement of certain clinical and regulatory milestones. 

Source: Royalty Pharma and Neuroimmune  

Mentari Therapeutics in $200-M Private Placement To Support Biologic-Based Migraine Drugs 
Mentari Therapeutics, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based privately held bio/pharmaceutical company developing biologic-based drugs for migraine prevention, has announced a $200- million private placement to healthcare investors. The proceeds from the private placement will enable the continued development of Mentari’s pipeline of targeted biologics for treating migraines. The private placement is expected to close immediately prior to the completion of Mentari’s merger with InMed Pharmaceuticals, a Vancouver, Canada-based bio/pharmaceutical company, and concurrently with a previously announced $290-million private placement 

Source: Mentari Therapeutics 

Crystalys Therapeutics Raises $130 M to Support Late-Stage Gout Drug 
Crystalys Therapeutics, a San Diego, California-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for gout, has raised $130 million in oversubscribed Series B financing to support the late-stage gclinical development and commercialization preparation of dotinurad, a once-daily, oral gout drug, now in Phase III trials. 

Source: Crystalys Therapeutics  

Jupiter Neurosciences, PharmAla Biotech in $100-M Neuropsychiatric Drug Pact 
Jupiter Neurosciences, a Jupiter, Florida-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has entered into a license agreement with PharmAla Biotech Holdings, a Toronto, Canada-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the research, development, and manufacturing of MDMA (3,4-methylenedixoymethamphetamine) and related MDXX-class molecules, for perpetual exclusive US rights to ALA-002, a psychotherapy drug, in a deal worth up to $100 million.  

Source: Jupiter Neurosciences 

Scribe Therapeutics Announces $96 M IPO for CRISPR-Based Cardio Drug 
Scribe Therapeutics, an Alameda, California-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company applying in vivo CRISPR technologies for developing genetic medicines for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases with initial programs to address the key drivers of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, has filed a initial public offering (IPO) seeking to raise $96 million for the support of STX-1150, the company’s lead candidate  

Scribe was co-founded with Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., co-winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her contribution in developing CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering technology. The company’s current CEO, Benjamin Oakes, Ph.D., worked in Doudna’s lab to engineer new CRISPR molecules before eventually starting up his own lab at the University of California, Berkeley, then eventually used his research to co-found Scribe Therapeutics. 

Source: Scribe Therapeutics 

Braveheart Bio Files for IPO To Support Late-Phase Cardio Drug 
Braveheart Bio, a San Francisco, California-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has filed an initial public offering (IPO).  

The company’s lead product candidate, BHB‑1893, is an oral small‑molecule cardiac myosin inhibitor in development for the treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic heart disease, and non‑obstructive HCM. The company licensed the candidate from China’s Hengrui Pharmaceuticals in 2025, in a deal worth up to $1 billion.  

Source: Braveheart Bio 

BlossomHill Therapeutics Files for IPO To Support Early-Stage Small-Molecule Cancer Drugs 
BlossomHill therapeutics, a San Diego, California-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on small-molecule drugs for oncology, has filed an initial public offering (IPO) to support the company’s lead candidate, BH-30643, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant drug for treating non-small cell lung cancer, currently in a global Phase I/II clinical trial. 

Source: BlossomHill Therapeutics