Other Recent Venture Capital Deals
Company	Investors	Use Of Proceeds
Monte Rosa Therapeutics; Boston	Aisling Capital led a $96m series B financing announced on 24 September with participation from founding investor Versant Ventures, existing investor New Enterprise Associates and new investors HBM Healthcare Investments, Cormorant Asset Management, GV, Amzak Health, Casdin Capital, Sixty Degree Capital and Cambridge Asset Management.	After coming out of stealth mode a few months earlier, Monte Rosa’s second round of venture capital was three times the size of its $32.5m series A round. The company is focused on protein degradation for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. It will use the series B proceeds to advance multiple programs towards the clinic. (Also see "Monte Rosa Hits The Heights With $96m Cash Hike" - Scrip, 25 September, 2020.)
Dewpoint Therapeutics; Boston	ARCH Venture Partners led a $77m series B round that Dewpoint announced on 29 September with participation from new investors Maverick Ventures and Bellco Capital as well as existing investors Leaps by Bayer, EcoR1 Capital, Polaris Partners, Samsara BioCapital and Innovation Endeavors. The company launched in January 2019 with a $60m series A round. (Also see "Finance Watch: Bitcoin For Biopharma? Agenus Gives BEST A Shot" - Scrip, 31 January, 2019.)	Dewpoint is focused on biomolecular condensates, which are droplets within cells that facilitate molecular interactions and help cells perform vital functions, to develop new treatments for a range of diseases. The company will use its new funding to continue developing its platform and identify additional compounds that modulate condensates. Dewpoint signed a collaboration agreement with Bayer AG in November 2019 to develop drugs for cardiovascular and gynecological diseases. (Also see "Deal Watch: Allergan Keeps After Hair Loss With Exicure Deal" - Scrip, 14 November, 2019.) It partnered with Merck & Co., Inc. in July around a novel mechanism of treating HIV. (Also see "Deal Watch: Merck's Busy Stretch Includes Collaborations With Dewpoint, Zymeworks" - Scrip, 13 July, 2020.)
Galecto Inc.; Boston and Copenhagen	The US and Danish firm revealed a $64m equity round on 25 September, which will extend the company cash balance into late 2022. Soleus Capital led the round, which was co-led by Eir Ventures with the participation from new and prior investors Novo Holdings, OrbiMed, Ysios Capital, HBM Healthcare Investments, Sunstone Capital, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Seventure, Maverick Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Hadean Capital, Sphera, Asymmetry Capital Management and Canica.	Galecto is developing novel treatments for fibrosis and cancer. The company intends to prepare for a potential conditional approval in the EU for GBO193 in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which is being tested in an ongoing Phase IIb clinical trial. Galecto also plans to start Phase II studies of GB1211 in liver fibrosis related to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and GB2064 for myelofibrosis by the end of 2020. Galecto previously raised a €79m series C round in 2018. (Also see "Galecto Funnels Funding Into Phase II For Inhaled IPF Therapy" - Scrip, 22 November, 2018.)
AZTherapies, Inc.; Boston	AZTherapies said on 29 September that it closed a $33.6m series C-1 preferred stock financing led by a Malaysia-based publicly listed pharmaceutical company and new investor Duopharma Biotech Berhad. Existing investors also participated in the series C-1, including Spinnaker Capital, ID Fund, DRADS Capital and Wexford Capital with new investor DEFTA Partners. AZTherapies closed a $26.3m series C round in October and subsequently added $11.2m, bringing the round’s total to $37.5m. (Also see "Finance Watch: BIO Says Proposed Foreign Investment Regulations Will Lower Investment In US Biotech" - Scrip, 30 October, 2019.)	The company has raised more than $130m to date and will use its new funding to expand regulatory and pre-commercial activities ahead of a readout in the first quarter of 2021 from the Phase III COGNITE clinical trial for lead drug candidate ALZT-OP1 in the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease. AZTherapies is focused on treating neuroinflammation and has additional programs in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment. The company also is pursuing a CAR-Treg strategy in neurodegenerative diseases.
ILIAS Biologics Inc.; Daejeon, South Korea	The company’s series A investors HB Investment, Timefolio Asset Management, and Daedeok Venture Partners participated in a $20.6m series B round announced on 28 September with new institutional investors Asset One, Devsisters Ventures, Meritz Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Daishin Securities, Hanyang Securities/Yeolim Partners and Genie Asset Management plus a small number of private investors. ILIAS has raised $40.2m since 2015.	Ilias is developing exosome-based therapeutics. SC125825 The company intends to start a clinical trial for its lead product candidate ILB-202 in an undisclosed acute inflammatory disease by the second half of 2021. It will also use the series B proceeds to fund ongoing development of its Exosome engineering for Protein Loading via Optically Reversed protein-protein interaction (EXPLOR) platform. Ilias intends to pursue an initial public offering in Korea during the first quarter of 2022.
Genelux Corporation; San Diego	The company said on 25 September that it entered into a convertible note and warrant financing transaction with Woodward Diversified Capital via a private placement of up to $20m worth of unsecured convertible notes and associated warrants.	Genelux, an immunotherapy specialist, with use the proceeds to prepare for and initiate a Phase III clinical trial for olvimulogene nanivacirepvec (Olvi-Vec), an oncolytic immunotherapy, in platinum-resistant or refractory ovarian cancer. The company will also expand its pipeline of immunotherapy candidates.
Palladio Biosciences, Inc.; Horsham, PA	New Palladio investor Samsara BioCapital led a $20m series B round announced on 25 September with participation from Roche Venture Fund and existing investors Medicxi and Osage University Partners.	The company will use the proceeds to conduct the Phase III ALERT clinical trial of lixivaptan in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Palladio acquired the drug from Chiesi USA, Inc. in 2017. (Also see "Start-Up Quarterly Statistics: Private And Public Firms Were Prolific Fundraisers" - Scrip, 10 August, 2017.)
Imvaq Therapeutics Corporation; New York	The company has raised $25m to date, including a $15m series B round announced on 28 September. Hanne Capital led the round with participation from Imvaq’s series A investors.	Imvaq was founded by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to develop viral-based, armed immune-stimulating therapies to treat solid tumors. The company will use its new funding to begin a Phase I clinical trial for lead candidate MQ710 and advance other pipeline programs.
LB Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; New York	The company said on 25 September that it raised additional financing from the sale of $10m worth of convertible notes to new and existing investors as part of LB’s series B round.	LB Pharmaceuticals is focused on treatments for central nervous system diseases. Its new financing will support continued clinical development of lead asset LB-102, including a PET imaging study planned for later this year and a Phase II trial in schizophrenia that is expected to start in mid-2021. The drug, also known as N-methyl amisulpride, is a benzamide designed as an improved version of amisulpride, a dopamine/5-HT7 antagonist that has been used to treat schizophrenia in Europe for decades. The company is exploring development of a long-acting injectable version of LB-102.
Carmot Therapeutics Inc.; Berkeley, CA	On 30 September the company announced a $47m series C financing; Amgen, Inc. joined existing investors The Column Group and Horizons Ventures and other institutional investors in the round.	Carmot has used its Chemotype Evolution platform to discover a potential new class of treatment across metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease. The financing will advance two dual modulators of GLP-1 and GIP incretin receptors; in early 2021 the company plans to start a Phase II study of CT-868 and Phase I/II studies of CT-368.
Sonoma Biotherapeutics; South San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA	The firm announced 30 September it had raised an additional $30m from investors in its series A financing, bringing the total to $70m. Lyell Immunopharma, ARCH Venture Partners, 8VC, LifeForce Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures Biosciences, Octagon Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, the JDRF T1D Fund and additional undisclosed investors participated in the round.	The privately held company is developing regulatory T-cell (Treg) therapies for autoimmune and degenerative diseases, looking to expand adoptive cell therapy beyond cancer. It added new executives to the senior management team: Leonard Dragone as chief medical officer; Sejal Hall as VP of portfolio, program and alliance management; and Susan Lacy as VP of discovery.
Flame Biosciences; New York	On 30 September the company announced the completion of a $100m common stock financing led by Rock Springs Capital, with participation from funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Cormorant Asset Management, Samsara BioCapital, Adage Capital Management, Terra Magnum Capital Partners, Logos Capital and Acuta Capital Partners.	A clinical stage biopharma focused on developing antibodies to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases, Flame is currently developing monoclonal antibodies that bind and neutralize interleukin-1beta to treat multiple diseases. FL-101 will enter the clinic in the first half of 2021 for proof-of-concept testing in non-small cell lung cancer.
Olema Oncology; San Francisco	Vivo Capital led an $85m series C round announced on 1 October with participation from new investors, including Avoro Capital Advisors, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Deerfield Management Co. and OrbiMed. All existing institutional investors – BVF Partners LP, Logos Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Cormorant Asset Management, Wellington Management Company, RA Capital Management, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and Foresite Capital – also participated.	Focused on targeted therapies for women's cancers, Olema's lead drug candidate is OP-1250, a complete estrogen receptor antagonist (CERAN) and selective estrogen receptor (ER) degrader (SERD) that is being tested in a Phase I/II clinical trial in patients with recurrent, locally advanced or metastatic ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer whose disease has progressed on endocrine therapy. The company will use its series C cash to support development of OP-1250, which may include studies of the drug in combination regimens, and to broaden its development pipeline. The company closed a $54m series B round in July. (Also see "Finance Watch: Notable Neuroscience VC Deals Include Nura Bio’s $73m Launch" - Scrip, 4 August, 2020.)

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