The companies Tome Biosciences, Bicara Therapeutics, and Seismic Therapeutic bagged the biggest biotech investments in December 2023. Around the world, food, immunology, oncology, central nervous system (CNS), and biofermentation players attracted the biggest funding rounds overall.
Although December is generally a quiet time for biotech fundraising, there were still some big rounds raised in the final month of 2023, particularly within the U.S. healthcare sector.
We’ve gathered the biggest biotech investments that went to private companies around the world in December. The fundraising companies have been split into healthcare and industrial biotechnology-focused verticals.
Healthcare investments in December 2023
The U.S.’ top private biotech healthcare investment went to Tome Biosciences, which took home $213 million in series A and B funding to advance its programmable genomic integration platform.
Meanwhile, the top European investment round went to French firm Eligo Bioscience. The company’s $30 million series B round will be used to accelerate the development of its flagship program targeting moderate to severe acne vulgaris.
The Chinese firm Novamab topped the healthcare list in the Asia-Pacific region with a $14 million series B investment in December 2023. The funds will be used for its phase 2 clinical studies of two inhaled antibody drugs.
Other life sciences investments in December 2023
Outside of the healthcare sector, many biotech companies raised big investments to advance technology such as food, biofermentation, and sequencing.
In this space, the U.S.’ biggest round went to sequencing firm Parse Biosciences, which bagged $50 million in a series C round to fuel its continued worldwide growth.
In Europe, U.K.-based Holiferm took home the biggest investment after raising $23.5 million in a series B round. The money raised will support the company with scale up plans for its commercial plant.
The Asia-Pacific region only saw one major funding round outside of healthcare in December 2023, in which Singapore-based cultivated meat company Meatiply managed to raise $3.75 million in a seed round. The funds will help the company expand its R&D capabilities and scale up production for more extensive product co-development with commercial partners.
January’s highlights
As we enter into the New Year, January 2024 has already kicked off with some major funding rounds.
For example, Lykos Therapeutics – formerly known as MAPS Public Benefit Corp. – has raised $100 million in a series A round for its ecstasy-based PTSD therapy, and Human Immunology Biosciences has managed to secure $95 million in series B funding to advance targeted therapies for immune-mediated diseases.