Oct. 20 Quick Takes: AbSci raises $65M; plus Aptinyx, Synspira and Aridis
Casdin leads $65M round for AbSci
Protein manufacturing company AbSci LLC said it raised $65 million in a series E round led by Casdin Capital. First-time backers Redmile Group and ArrowMark Partners joined returning investor Phoenix Venture Partners in the round, which will support ongoing expansion of AbSci’s Protein Printing synthetic biology technology.
Aptinyx rises after PTSD readout
On the strength of a Phase II readout in post-traumatic stress disorder, Aptinyx Inc. (NASDAQ:APTX) added about $38 million in market cap as its shares rose $0.81 (22%) to $4.47 on Tuesday, touching a 52-week high intraday. The company said late Monday that NMDA receptor modulator NYX-783 significantly improved scores vs. placebo on a scale that measures PTSD severity. Aptinyx’s stock fell into the single digits in January 2019 after another program failed in a Phase II trial to treat pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy...