Gate Bioscience has closed a $65 million oversubscribed Series B financing round to accelerate the advancement of its emerging class of oral small-molecule medicines, known as molecular gates. The round brings the company’s total capital raised to $135 million, positioning the Brisbane-based biotechnology company to enter the clinic with programs targeting high-value inflammatory and neurological disease proteins.
The financing was led by new investor Forbion, with additional participation from new investor Eli Lilly and Company, as well as existing backers Versant Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health, GV, and ARCH Venture Partners. The investment will support clinical development of Gate’s lead programs, expand its broader portfolio of molecular gate candidates, and strengthen its discovery platform as the company targets disease proteins that lack effective therapy or currently require injectable biologics.
As part of the transaction, Vanessa Carle, Ph.D., Principal at Forbion, will join Gate’s Board of Directors. Her appointment adds further expertise in scaling therapeutic companies across Europe and the United States as Gate advances first-in-class approaches to eliminating disease-causing proteins at their origin inside the cell.
Gate’s molecular gates function by blocking a target protein’s passage through the Sec61 secretory channel, leading to its intracellular degradation before it can enter circulation. The approach aims to deliver the convenience of an oral pill with the potential for superior efficacy compared to therapies that act only after proteins are secreted into the bloodstream. In inflammatory diseases, the company is targeting cytokines that drive disease activity. In neurological disorders, Gate is developing molecular gates that can cross the blood-brain barrier, opening therapeutic avenues not accessible to traditional biologics.
The Series B proceeds will advance the company’s lead programs through IND-enabling studies and Phase 1 trials designed to generate proof-of-concept data. The funding will also accelerate discovery efforts aimed at additional high-value proteins and further enhance Gate’s platform to improve development speed and efficiency.
KEY QUOTES:
“Gate represents a rare opportunity to invest in a truly differentiated therapeutic modality with significant advantages over existing treatments. The Company’s molecular gate platform addresses high-value, clinically validated targets across multiple therapeutic areas with an oral small molecule approach, which is something that has eluded the field until now. With its experienced team and differentiated platform, Gate is uniquely positioned to disrupt treatment paradigms in inflammatory and neurological diseases, potentially unlocking significant value across underserved markets.”
Vanessa Carle, Ph.D., Principal at Forbion
“Molecular gates have the potential to be transformative drugs for diseases where current treatments fall short. Because the mechanism is so differentiated, we’ve been able to build a portfolio with low biology risk and best-in-class potential across multiple therapeutic areas. We’re also seeing the fruits of our platform investment, which has matured into a true drug discovery engine that allows us to make selective molecular gates repeatedly and efficiently, both for our own pipeline and for our biopharma partners. We are grateful for the support of Forbion, Lilly, and our existing investors, which will help us test the first molecular gate medicines in the clinic and continue to expand our portfolio.”
Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO, Gate Bioscience
