Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures1, a corporate venturing unit of France-based healthcare company Sanofi Aventis, and Ireland-based pharmaceutical company Shire have helped Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, a US company specialised in the treatments of rare and ultra-rare genetic disorders, raise $75m.
The two corporates were joined in the series B round by mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price Associates, Jennison Associates (on behalf of clients), funds and accounts of asset manager BlackRock and existing investors TPG Biotech, a venture unit of the buyout firm, Fidelity Biosciences, a venture unit of the asset manager, and venture firms HealthCap and Pappas Ventures.
Eran Nadav, managing director at TPG Biotech and chairman of Ultragenyx, said: We welcome the participation of such highly regarded public market and strategic investors in this pivotal financing. Ultragenyx, led by a distinguished team experienced in rare disease drug development, is building a world-class orphan drug company with a rich pipeline of transformative therapeutics.”
Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures is a successor fund to Genzyme Ventures, which has been re-named to reflect an expanded strategic investment focus on areas of interest to both Sanofi and Genzyme.
Cowen and Company was financial advisor while law firm Ropes & Gray was legal advisor.
Last year Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, a US-based developer of drugs for rare diseases started in April 2010,raised $45m in its series A round co-led by Fidelity Biosciences and TPG Biotech.