Chiasma, an Israel-based biotechnology company backed by conglomerate Ofer Holdings, has secured the $33.8m first tranche of a planned $56.3m series E round from undisclosed investors, according to MedCity News.
Chiasma had previously entered a $595m commercialisation deal with pharmaceutical company Roche, until Roche decided to cancel the agreement in July 2014 following the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial for Chiasma’s oral treatment for hormonal disorder acromegaly.
Ofer Hi-Tech, a subsidiary of Ofer Holdings, participated in a $44m series C round for Chiasma in 2006 that also included Arch Venture Partners, MPM Capital and F2 Venture.
Chiasma has raised about $155m in total funding from investors also including F3 Ventures, Abingworth, 7 Med Health Ventures, Jerusalem Global Ventures and Yissum Research Development, the technology transfer office of Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Chiasma’s technology is based on research conducted by Muli Ben Sasson, a cell biologist at the university’s Hadassah Medical School. Acromegaly is a disorder caused by an excess of growth hormones which is fatal if left untreated. It affects about 5,000 people per million.