March 3 Quick Takes: Megarounds for Akouos, Element; plus venture rounds by Kahr, Primmune, Lipidio and Scipio and more

Pivotal bioVentures, crossovers back Akouos in $105M series B
Akouos Inc., a gene therapy company developing treatments for hearing loss, raised $105 million in a series B round led by Pivotal bioVentures. New investors included Cormorant Asset Management, Cowen Healthcare Investments, EcoR1 Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Co., Polaris Founders Fund, Pagsgroup, Surveyor Capital and Wu Capital, while returning investors included 5AM Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Novartis Venture Fund, Partners Innovation Fund, RA Capital and Sofinnova Investments. Akouos expects to use the funds to begin clinical testing of lead program AKA-OTOF to treat hearing loss tied to mutations in the otoferlin gene (see “Sound Story”).

Element’s series C brings in $145.6M
Element Science Inc. raised $145.6 million in a series C round to develop and launch a wearable personal defibrillator. Deerfield and Qiming Venture Partners led the round; also participating were new investors Cormorant Asset Management and Invus Opportunities, as well as existing investors Third Rock Ventures and GV. Element said it is developing a pipeline of wearable digital devices for unmet needs, including other cardiovascular applications...