US-based kidney disease drug developer Palladio Biosciences closed a $20m series B round on Friday backed by pharmaceutical firm Roche through its corporate venturing unit, Roche Venture Fund.
Samsara BioCapital led the round, which also spinout-focused investment firm Osage University Partners and corporate-backed venture firm Medicxi.
Founded in 2015, Palladio Biosciences is progressing a clinical-stage drug called lixivaptan for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), an inherited cause of kidney failure symptomised by the appearance of fluid-filled cysts.
The drug targets patients who cannot receive tolvaptan, an existing ADPKD treatment, due to liver toxicity or abnormalities.
The series B proceeds will fund a phase 3 study of lixivaptan to determine its effect on the liver, in addition to expanding Palladio’s operations.
One ADPKD patient has already received lixivaptan under an expanded access authorisation from US regulators.
Medicxi previously led a series A round of undisclosed size for Palladio Biosciences that closed in 2017, with Osage also backing the series B as an existing investor.
Srinivas Akkaraju, managing general partner of Samsara BioCapital, said: “We are very excited about our investment in Palladio to support the development of lixivaptan, a drug that has the potential to deliver a meaningful therapeutic advancement in the treatment of ADPKD.
“The [phase 3] alert study is an important step in assessing the safety differential of lixivaptan.”
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.