US-based immunotherapy developer Rgenix received $33m yesterday in a series B round co-led by pharmaceutical firm Novo and venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners.
The round also featured real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ Alexandria Venture Investments subsidiary, Partnership Fund for New York City and private equity firm Conegliano Ventures.
Rgenix is working on cancer therapies that are able to reverse drug resistance, and will use the series B capital to launch clinical trials for its two lead candidates this autumn and to further develop its pipeline. Its platform is based on research originally conducted at Rockefeller University by Sohail Tavazoie.
Rgenix previously received $8m in funding in August 2015, according to a regulatory filing, in a round that also featured Nancy Chang, co-founder of biopharmaceutical company Tanox.
The company confirmed to news publication Xconomy last summer that it had raised a total of around $10m by that point, though details about a seed round have not emerged.
Nilesh Kumar, senior principal at Novo’s corporate venturing unit Novo Ventures, and Antoine Papiernik, managing partner of Sofinnova Partners, will join Rgenix’s board of directors in conjunction with the round.
Kumar said: “We are excited to support Rgenix’s novel approach to treating cancers of high unmet need.
“Rgenix has an exciting platform founded on strong science from Rockefeller University; the lead program is a first in class opportunity addressing a key mechanism in tumour immunosuppression in various cancer types.”