During the third quarter of 2012, biopharma financings jumped to just over $3 billion, a 13% increase over the Q2 total. Heading the list was small-molecule cancer therapeutics developer Exelixis Inc. with an offering of stock and debt [See Deal] that netted $139 million and $279 million, respectively. The $418 million in proceeds will be put towards the company’s most advanced candidate cabozantinib (XL184), a dual inhibitor of the MET and VEGF pathways, which has shown activity in multiple cancer indications in several Phase II and Phase III trials. In July, the FDA also granted priority review to the NDA for cabozantinib as a treatment for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.
Exelixis topped a list of seven pharmacos that met or exceeded the $100 million mark in Q3 financing. Also among this group was Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., which brought in...