Star Therapeutics – a biotechnology company interrogating novel biology to develop life-changing therapies – recently announced the closing of an oversubscribed $90 million Series C financing to continue the growth of its first-in-class antibody therapies and portfolio companies. The funding was led by Sofinnova Investments and included new investors Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Catalio Capital Management, Agent Capital, Soleus Capital, and NYBC Ventures, as well as participation by all existing investors, including Westlake Village BioPartners, OrbiMed, Redmile Group, RA Capital Management, New Leaf Venture Partners, Cormorant Asset Management, and Cowen Healthcare Investments. Including this Series C funding round, Star Therapeutics has raised over $190 million since its inception to create numerous portfolio companies.
The funding will support the clinical advancement of VGA039, a first-in-class antibody currently being evaluated in a Phase 1a/1b study for von Willebrand disease. And this novel therapy is being developed by Vega Therapeutics, a Star portfolio company focused on underserved blood disorders. Plus, the funding will also continue Star’s approach as an innovation engine to generate additional biotech companies focused on discovering and advancing novel antibody therapies, each targeting multiple diseases.
Concurrent with this financing, the Board includes Beth Seidenberg, MD, Founding Managing Director at Westlake Village BioPartners; Carl Gordon, PhD, Managing Partner at OrbiMed; Amrit Nagpal, Managing Director at Redmile Group, Maha Katabi, PhD, General Partner at Sofinnova Investments; Nancy Stagliano, PhD, Executive Board Chair; and Adam Rosenthal, PhD, CEO and Founder of Star. Star’s Board observers include Vijay Lathi, Founding Managing Director at New Leaf Venture Partners and Matt Hammond, PhD, Principal at RA Capital Management.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our outstanding syndicate of seasoned life sciences investors is ideally suited to support our growth and mission to develop life-changing therapies for as many patients as possible, building on our success to date with novel therapeutic approaches in hematology and immunology. To date, we have unveiled two biotech companies that have rapidly advanced antibodies from idea stage to the clinic, and we aim to replicate this success with additional biotech companies in the Star portfolio.”
— Adam Rosenthal, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Star Therapeutics
“We are very excited about the opportunities on the horizon for Star and extremely confident in the Star team, which has demonstrated the ability to generate impactful medicines and advance them rapidly and efficiently into the clinic. VGA039 is a prime example of a novel antibody therapy with the potential to address significant unmet needs and transform treatment for patients. We look forward to supporting Star as it continues to be an innovation engine for transformative therapies.”
— Maha Katabi, PhD, General Partner at Sofinnova Investments
