Arcellx, a US-based developer of cancer and autoimmune disease therapies, raised $115m yesterday in a series C round featuring medical research group Cambrian Biopharma, diversified conglomerate LG and pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Novo and Takeda.
Samsara BioCapital and CAM Capital co-led the round, which included Adage Capital, Asymmetry, CaaS Capital, Sixty Degree Capital, Soleus Capital, Surveyor Capital, Suvretta, Terra Magnum Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Clough Capital Partners.
GSK, LG and Takeda took part in the round through their respective corporate venturing arms: SR One, LG Technology Ventures and Takeda Ventures.
Arcellx is focused on the development of cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Its technology platform uses an antigen protein called SparX, which flags diseased cells so they can be destroyed later by engineered immune cells known as ARC-T cells.
The funding will help Arcellx develop CART-ddBCMA, a cell therapy for multiple myeloma, which is expected to enter clinical trials in 2022. It will also support clinical trials for ACLX-001 and ACLX-002, cell therapies for the treatment of multiple myeloma and acute myelogenous leukaemia, respectively.
Arcellx received $85m in a late 2019 series B round backed by LG Technology Ventures, Novo, Takeda Ventures and SR One. It was co-led by Aju IB Investment and Quan Capital and also featured Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, JVC Investment Partners, NEA and funds managed by Clough Capital.
Earlier that year, the company had pulled in $27m of series A funding from Novo, Takeda Ventures, SR One and NEA.