Crescendo Biologics, a life sciences spin-out company of Cambridge University, has received £17.5m ($28.9m) in a series A supported by new and existing backers, including the corporate venturing arm of Astellas Pharma.
The round was led by Imperial Innovations, the tech transfer unit of Imperial College London, marking the latest in a string of deals between Innovations and Cambridge startups. Crescendo also attracted new investor Astellas Venture Management as well as seed round investor venture firm Sofinnova Partners. As part of the deal, Imperial Innovation’s director of healthcare ventures Rob Woodman will join the Crescendo board.
The fresh support brings the UK-based firm’s total venture funding to $36.2m following its $7.3m seed round in 2010, which was backed by Avlar BioVentures and the Rainbow Seed Fund alongside Sofinnova.
The funding will be used to further advance Crescendo’s research into next-generation antibody therapeutics, specifically with a focus on cancer, as well as building new bridges for collaboration.
Mike Romanos, chief executive of Crescendo, said: “This new investment will allow us to accelerate our inflammation and oncology programmes to the clinic, and provide a powerful platform for strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.”