US-based cancer therapy developer Bolt Biotherapeutics closed a $93.5m series C round yesterday backed property development group Nan Fung and pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Novo.
Venture capital firm Sofinnova Investments led the round, which also featured RA Capital Management, Surveyor Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Vivo Capital and undisclosed additional investors.
Pfizer invested in the round through its corporate venture capital arm, Pfizer Ventures, while Nan Fung took part through life science investment vehicle Pivotal BioVenture Partners.
Spun out of Stanford University in 2015, Bolt is working on immunotherapies designed to fight tumours and equip the body’s immune system with the ability to respond to cancerous cells in future.
The company’s lead asset, BDC-1001, targets HER2-expressing solid tumours, and has shown promising results in preclinical studies. HER2 is a protein that promotes the growth of cancer cells.
The series C funding has been allocated to the clinical development of BDC-1001 and an expansion of Bolt’s product pipeline. Sofinnova Investments principal Jason Pitts will join its board of directors in connection with the round.
Nan Fung Life Sciences subsidiary Pivotal BioVenture Partners led Bolt’s $54m series B round in February 2019, investing alongside another branch of Nan Fung, Nan Fung Life Sciences, in addition to Novo and Vivo Capital.
Bolt had previously secured approximately $30m in funding altogether, according to securities documents, and Novo and Vivo Capital were both identified as returning investors in the series B round.
