Israeli Biotech Antra Bio Raises $275 Million in Private Placement to Fund Operations Through 2030
Israeli drug development company Antra Bio announced a private placement raising $275 million, a significant increase from its prior Nasdaq valuation of $101 million. The funds are expected to finance the company’s operations until 2030, including a Phase III trial for its leading oral osteoporosis treatment, which could enable product registration and marketing.
The financing round was led by American biomedical venture capital firm BVF Partners, which has previously invested in Israeli companies KHAR and Bioline. BVF will also appoint two members to Antra Bio’s board. Other participants included Longitude Capital, Vivo Capital, TCGX, Spruce Street Capital, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, RA Capital Management, Perceptive Advisors, Driehaus Capital Management, Logos Capital, and Catalio Capital Management. The share price in the offering was $2.04, aligned with the market price before the announcement. The placement was managed by Leernik Partners, Evercore, Guggenheim Securities, Cantor, LifeSci Capital, and Canaccord Genuity, with Herzog Fox & Neeman and Greenberg Traurig serving as legal counsel.
CEO Miranda Toldano, who joined after extensive biomedical leadership experience including at TRIGR Therapeutics, described the company’s transformation since 2022-2023, highlighting a nearly complete management overhaul and new product pipeline and regulatory strategy. She emphasized Antra Bio’s strong Israeli roots combined with international competitiveness.
Antra Bio develops oral peptide and protein-based drugs as alternatives to injectable treatments. It originated from technology developed by Oramed, an Israeli company valued at 522 million shekels, which retains royalty rights if Antra’s drugs reach the market. Antra’s key collaboration is with Tel Aviv-listed Opko, jointly developing unique proteins and peptides while sharing costs and revenues. Their pipeline includes an oral substitute for an existing thyroid injection expected to enter clinical trials this year, and two novel metabolic disease drugs in early development combining GLP1 and glucagon hormones.
Antra has moved beyond the original Oramed technology to a once-daily oral dosing platform, with royalty agreements remaining but less relevant currently. Early investor DNA Biomed, now Canada Israel Hotels, held 7.6% before the new funding. This capital injection marks a pivotal moment for Antra Bio’s growth and product advancement.
