The latest from small and Emerging Pharma companies featuring OrbiMed, Verastem, City Therapeutics and Iambic. 

For news on the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies, see Global Briefs. 

* OrbiMed Raises $3 Bn for Two Life-Sciences Funds, Including $1 Bn for Asian Biotechs
* Verastem Oncology Appoints New CEO 
* City Therapeutics Seeks To Raise Up To $185 M in IPO To Support RNAi Pipeline
* Iambic Seeks To Raise $135 M in IPO for Oncology Pipeline

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OrbiMed Raises $3 Bn for Two Life-Sciences Funds, Including $1 Bn for Asian Companies 
OrbiMed, a global healthcare investment firm, has raised $3 billion in commitments to establish two new private equity funds: OrbiMed Private Investments X and OrbiMed Asia Partners VI. 

OrbiMed Private Investments X raised over $1.9 billion to invest in US and European life-sciences venture-capital opportunities. OrbiMed Asia Partners VI raised over $1 billion to invest in healthcare growth equity and venture capital opportunities across Asia. Both funds seek to build leading healthcare companies focused on bio/pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and technology-enabled healthcare services. 

Source: OrbiMed 

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Verastem Oncology Appoints New CEO 
Verastem Oncology, a Boston-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, has announced that Michael P. Bailey, currently a member of the Board of Directors of Verastem, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 1, 2027.  

Bailey will also continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors. The CEO transition follows the planned retirement of Daniel Paterson, who will step down as President and CEO and continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors and as an advisor to the company. 

Bailey has served on Verastem’s Board of Directors since May 2026. He had a 16-year career with AVEO Pharmaceuticals, an LG Chem, Ltd. company, where he served as President and CEO,  since January of 2015 after previously holding the roles of Chief Business Officer and Chief Commercial Officer. Before AVEO, he was Senior Vice President of Business Development and Chief Commercial Officer at Synta Pharmaceuticals. Earlier, he spent nine years at ImClone Systems. Prior to ImClone, he managed the cardiovascular new products development portfolio at Genentech after starting his industry career at SmithKline Beecham in 1992. 

The company also announced the offering of 30,937,500 shares of its common stock at a price of $8.00 per share and pre-funded warrants, expected to raise gross proceeds of $250 million. The offering was expected to close on or about October 15, 2026, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The company is focused on developing novel small-molecule drugs that inhibit certain signaling pathways in cancer that promote cancer cell survival and tumor growth, including RAF/MEK inhibition, FAK inhibition and KRAS G12D inhibition. 

Source: Verastem Oncology 

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City Therapeutics Seeks To Raise Up To $185 M in IPO To Support RNAi Pipeline 
City Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, is seeking to raise up to $185 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the US through selling 9.7 million shares of common stock at a target price between $17 ⁠and $19 per share. 

The company’s most advanced product candidate, CITY-FXI, is a siRNA therapeutic targeting Factor XI (FXI) for the prevention of thromboembolic diseases based on its potential to reduce FXI activity and thereby prevent thromboembolic events while mitigating bleeding risk. 

Source: City Therapeutics  

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Iambic Seeks To Raise Up To $159 M in IPO for Oncology Pipeline 
Iambic, a San Diego, California-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on AI-based oncology drug development, is seeking to raise up to $159 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the US through selling 9.3 million shares of common stock at a target price between $15 ⁠and $17 per share. 

The company’s most advanced program, IAM1363, is an oral, highly selective, pan-mutant, and brain-penetrant small-molecule inhibitor of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). As of September 2026, it is in an ongoing, open-label, multi-center Phase I/Ib clinical trial in patients with advanced HER2-altered solid tumors. 

Source: Iambic