GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet technology conglomerate Alphabet, has led a $49.5m series A round for US-based cell and gene therapy developer Obsidian Therapeutics that closed yesterday.
Takeda Ventures and Amgen Ventures, respective subsidiaries of pharmaceutical firms Takeda and Amgen, also took part in the round, as did ShangPharma Investment Group, the corporate venturing vehicle for pharmaceutical holding company ShangPharma.
The other participants in the round were Alexandria Venture Investments, the strategic investment arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, and venture capital firms Atlas Venture and Vertex Ventures.
Atlas Venture founded Obsidian in 2015 and was its sole investor for its first two years of operation. The company has developed a range of platform technologies that can control protein activity in cells, facilitating tuneable cell and gene therapies.
Obsidian’s approach is based on the use of destabilising domains, which were pioneered by the company’s founder Thomas Wandless, and it will initially focus on developing anti-tumour drugs.
Michael Gilman, who was recently appointed CEO of Obsidian, said: “While existing cell therapies in oncology have shown substantial efficacy, the range of applications is still narrow and significant toxicities limit broader adoption.
“By equipping cells with new tumour-fighting powers and by putting precise and dynamic dosing control in the hands of the treating physician, we believe we can improve safety, efficacy and durability of CAR-T [chimeric antigen receptor T-cell] therapies.”