Cancer vax biotech Amal grabs $10M round; Global Blood Therapeutics eyes PRV with new FDA designation

⇨ Geneva-based Amal Therapeutics has picked up about $10 million in Series B money for its work on peptide-based cancer vaccines. Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, BioMedPartners and Helsinn Investment Fund invested alongside VI Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Schroder Adveq.

⇨ Global Blood Therapeutics $GBT picked up a rare pediatric disease designation for GBT440, putting it in line for a possible priority review voucher.

⇨ Enzyvant has also won a rare pediatric disease designation for RVT-802, its therapy for the treatment of primary immune deficiency resulting from congenital athymia associated with complete DiGeorge Syndrome.

⇨ BARDA has decided to end funding of Sanofi’s Zika vaccine project. And so Sanofi says it will now stop work on the program — for now at least.

⇨ Synergy Pharmaceuticals $SGYP announced today that the company has closed on a $300 million debt financing structured as senior secured loans from CRG.

⇨ Shares of Israel’s Cellect Biotechnology $APOP popped up 40% after the FDA handed over an orphan drug designation for ApoGraft, used for the prevention of acute and chronic graft versus host disease in transplant patients.