The healthcare-focused companies Orna Therapeutics, F2G and Sironax bagged the biggest biotech investments in August 2022, with mRNA vaccines, genomics and fermentation technology attracting big funding rounds.
As many took a well-deserved vacation in the month of August 2022, the world of biotech remained busy with fundraising. Sit back and browse our lists of the biggest biotech investments raised by private firms in the last few weeks.
Healthcare investments
The leading healthcare investment in the U.S. went to the firm Orna Therapeutics, which bagged $221 million in a Series B round. The firm is developing the next generation of mRNA technology to develop vaccines in addition to gene and cell therapies.
In Europe, the leading private biotech investment in healthcare — a $70 million private equity investment — went to the anti-fungal developer F2G in the U.K. The Belgian mRNA specialist eTheRNA Immunotherapies took second place with a Series B2 round worth almost $39 million.
The Chinese company Sironax took the crown for the biggest private biotech investment in the Asia-Pacific region. The company is developing a pipeline of drugs tackling neurodegenerative diseases in addition to hyperinflammation triggered by COVID-19. Notable runners-up included cell therapy player Oricell Therapeutics, InSilico Medicine in Hong Kong and MedGenome in India.
Other life sciences investments
There were also plenty of life sciences investments that were focused on sectors outside of healthcare such as biomanufacturing, food and agriculture.
The U.S. company Greenlight Biosciences led the private biotech investment rankings in North America with a $109 million equity investment. The company is gunning to develop and manufacture RNA molecules for use in vaccine production and industrial biotech applications such as agriculture. The technology is designed to make the RNA easier and cheaper to make than current generations of the modality.
The Israeli startup Groundwork BioAg also made a splash in August 2022 when it raised a Series B investment round. The proceeds will be used to bankroll the development of biostimulants and biopesticides. Other companies that made the top five included Constructive Bio in the U.K. and Cellfion in Sweden.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the Chinese firm Cygnus Biosciences bagged the biggest biotech investment outside of healthcare. Its $29.6 million Series C round will be used to fund the commercialization of DNA sequencing technology. Other strong candidates included the South Korean Mycel and the Indian company Loopworm.
It was noteworthy that these private life sciences investments took place as public markets continue to be challenging for the bigger biotech companies, which is having a knock-on effect on private biotech investments. In any case, we’re likely to see a strong performance for biotech investments in September as many people’s holidays finish and activity picks up.