True North Therapeutics, a US-based biotechnology company developing therapies to treat rare diseases, closed a $22m series A round today backed by several healthcare corporates.
In addition to incorporating funds from the spin-out of True North from drug developer iPierian in 2013, the round also included corporate venturing units SR One, Biogen Idec New Ventures and Baxter Ventures, and venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and MPM Capital.
True North will invest the funding in advance its lead drug candidate, TNT009, a molecule intended to prevent phagocytosis, inflammation, and cell lysis, into clinical development.
The first human clinical trial is expected to take place in early 2015, and the capital should be sufficient to complete Phase 1a and Phase 1b studies.