Global University Venturing

Endocrine disease therapy developer Millendo, spun out of University of Michigan, will merge with publicly-listed OvaScience, raising a further $30m in the process.

James Cook University has formed its first spinout, Paragen Bio, which will commercialise autoimmune disease therapies derived from a blood-sucking tropical parasite.

Antibiotics developer Bugworks Research has been backed by Utec in its bid to commercialise a treatment for hospital superbugs.

Based on research at MD Anderson, Magnolia Neurosciences has launched with funding from corporates AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and WuXi AppTec.

Ambys Medicines has raised $60m in a series A round backed by Takeda and signed a strategic partnership agreement with the corporate worth $80m.

Glaucoma therapy spinout Quethera will become a unit of drug manufacturer Astellas Pharma, providing exits to investors Cambridge Enterprise, UCEF III and UK2IS.

Washington University in St Louis is to launch grant scheme called Holekamp Seed Fund to back student entrepreneurs with a $500,000 donation from the Holekamp family.

A round up of all the latest news on www.globaluniversityventuring.com for our subscribers.

University of Saarland and HTW Saar – University of Applied Sciences will run a three-month accelerator with funding from the Saarland government-backed Squash initiative.

Illumina, GV and Orient Life supported a $72m series C round for MIT spinout SQZ Biotechnology, with the money set to fund therapies for solid tumours and autoimmunity.