[Adobe Firefly]
Other examples of significant financing rounds include aging- and metabolic-focused BioAge Labs‘ $170 million Series D. The company will use the cash for phase 2 clinical trials of azelaprag, an apelin receptor (APJ) agonist, in tandem with Lilly’s soon-to-be-blockbuster Zepbound (tirzepatide). Other significant deals include oncology-specialized ProfoundBio‘s $112 million Series B and autoimmue-diseased dedicated Human Immunology Biosciences‘ $95 million Series B.
The graph below shows how the funding breaks down for 91 notable companies attracting funding in Q1 2024. The analysis filtered out companies with pre-seed, seed, post-IPO equity and other funding types apart from venture series and focused primarily on companies with larger funding amounts with a significant healthcare focus.
To read more on the top biotech firms receiving funding in the quarter, check out 20 biotech startups attracted almost $3B in Q1 2024 funding.
Focus areas drawing significant funding
Funding totals were fairly diversified across company types. The companies were split into five clusters:
-
Therapeutic areas and diseases: Companies in this category, which attracted $1.15 billion in cumulative Q1 funding, develop treatments for specific diseases like cancer, autoimmune conditions and heart disease. Notable companies include Alumis ($259 million, Series C, precision medications for autoimmune diseases) and BioAge Labs ($170 million, Series D, treatments for age-related diseases).
-
Technological and methodological approaches: This segment, attracting $2.23 billion, features companies focused on precision medicine, targeted drug delivery, drug discovery platforms and non-invasive diagnostics. Standouts include Freenome ($254 million, Series E, early-stage cancer detection) and Obsidian Therapeutics ($160.5 million, Series C cell and gene therapies with pharmacologic operating systems).
-
Drug and therapy development: Companies actively developing clinical-stage treatments, regenerative therapies and pharmacologically active compounds fall into this category, which won $1.81 billion in funding. Notable companies include Sionna Therapeutics ($182 million, Series C, novel cystic fibrosis therapies) and Rakuten Medical, which cut workers earlier this year, attracted $119 million in Series E for precision-targeted cancer therapies).
-
Research and manufacturing: Companies in this segment, which attracted $826.68 million in funding, include biotechnology research firms and those specializing in proprietary manufacturing processes. Notable companies include Jixing Pharmaceuticals ($162 million, Series D, cardiovascular and ophthalmic therapeutics development) and Areteia Therapeutics ($170 million, Series B, respiratory disease treatments).
-
Other: Companies that did not fit into the above areas were lumped under “other.” This grouping attracted $274.32 million in the quarter. Notable companies in this category include Aqemia, which raised $32.5 million in a Series A round for its quantum and statistical mechanics algorithms for drug discovery, and Apollo Therapeutics, which secured $33.5 million in a Series C round to translate academic research into medicines.
Here’s how the funding breaks down by segment:
Geographic distribution
Close to a third of deals were based on North America, about one-quarter in Europe and 13% in Asia. Keeping with tradition, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Boston were hubs of deal-making, also tending to attract a larger portion of the funding deals and investments.
In Asia, China was a deal-making hub with cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing accounting for significant deals. Examples include Zhongke Guosheng ($37.6 million), Longjin Biotechnology ($16.5 million), Hengruiyuan ($42.8 million) and Huadao Biopharma ($16.5 million).
You can move the map to see deals across the world:
Other regions with a substantial number of deals include the United Kingdom, Canada, and European countries including Germany, France and Switzerland. Notable biotech companies with Q1 funding in those geographies include Glasgow-based ENOUGH ($102.7 million total funding), Southampton-headquartered Curve Therapeutics ($51.4 million Series A) and Edinburgh-based EnteroBiotix with a $53.8 million Series B. In France, there was Bioptimus (Paris) with $35 million in seed funding.
A snapshot of biotech companies attracting funding in Q1 2024
| Organization Name | Headquarters Location | Total Funding Amount (in USD) | Last Funding Date |
Last Funding Type
|
| Freenome | South San Francisco, California, United States | $1,351,550,000.00 | 2024-02-15 | Series E |
| Rakuten Medical | San Diego, California, United States | $737,591,700.00 | 2024-03-06 | Series E |
| FogPharma | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | $530,271,035.00 | 2024-03-01 | Series E |
| Alumis | San Francisco, California, United States | $529,000,000.00 | 2024-03-06 | Series C |
| Apollo Therapeutics | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom | $397,852,170.00 | 2024-01-02 | Series C |
| Capstan Therapeutics | San Diego, California, United States | $340,000,000.00 | 2024-03-20 | Series B |
| Obsidian Therapeutics | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | $325,000,000.00 | 2024-04-03 | Series C |
| Frontier Medicines | San Francisco, California, United States | $324,000,000.00 | 2024-02-22 | Series C |
| Neurona Therapeutics | San Francisco, California, United States | $320,313,942.00 | 2024-02-08 | Series E |
| BioAge Labs | Richmond, California, United States | $293,900,000.00 | 2024-02-13 | Series D |
| Sionna Therapeutics | Natick, Massachusetts, United States | $292,000,000.00 | 2024-03-06 | Series C |
| ProfoundBio | Seattle, Washington, United States | $247,000,000.00 | 2024-02-13 | Series B |
| Sinovent | Suzhou, Jiangsu, China | $242,003,700.00 | 2024-02-20 | Series E |
| Alterome Therapeutics | San Diego, California, United States | $231,000,000.00 | 2024-04-03 | Series B |
| SeLux Diagnostics | Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States | $220,499,998.00 | 2024-04-01 |
Venture – Series Unknown
|
| Tubulis | Munich, Bayern, Germany | $217,002,699.00 | 2024-03-14 | Series B |
| Cognito Therapeutics | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | $216,765,300.00 | 2024-01-29 | Series B |
| Remix Therapeutics | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | $211,000,000.00 | 2024-01-03 |
Venture – Series Unknown
|
| Attralus | San Francisco, California, United States | $197,000,000.00 | 2024-02-06 | Series B |
| Alamar Biosciences | Fremont, California, United States | $194,000,000.00 | 2024-02-26 | Series C |
| Sudo Biosciences | Carmel, Indiana, United States | $183,000,000.00 | 2024-02-13 | Series B |
| Elephas | Madison, Wisconsin, United States | $178,500,000.00 | 2024-01-24 | Series C |
| Accent Therapeutics | Lexington, Massachusetts, United States | $178,000,000.00 | 2024-01-23 | Series C |
| MISSION Therapeutics | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom | $175,296,791.00 | 2024-03-14 |
Venture – Series Unknown
|
| BlossomHill Therapeutics | San Diego, California, United States | $173,000,000.00 | 2024-01-02 | Series B |
Filed Under: clinical trials, Data science, Drug Discovery, Drug Discovery and Development, machine learning and AI, Oncology, Rare disease
