US-based oncology therapy startup VelosBio has raised $58m in series A funding from investors including Takeda Ventures and Chiesi Ventures, subsidiaries of pharmaceutical companies Takeda and Chiesi.
Healthcare company builder Arix Bioscience co-led the round with Sofinnova Ventures, paying $11m for an 11.2% stake in the company. Pappas Ventures and Decheng Capital also took part, and Arix investment director Mark Chin will join the board of directors at VelosBio.
Founded in 2017, VelosBio is working on antibody-drug conjugates that will treat solid tumours and haematological cancers, targeting cancer cells while hypothetically leaving healthy cells alone.
The series A cash will be used to complete nonclinical development of the company’s lead product candidates, and to move them into clinical testing.
David Johnson, VelosBio’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted with the strong support for the series A financing from Arix, as well as our existing and new investors.
“The proceeds from the series A will enable us to drive VelosBio’s business forward ambitiously as we approach our next stage of growth and development.”
The company had secured $7.7m in February this year according to a regulatory filing, and identified Takeda Ventures and Decheng Capital as existing investors in the series A round. It joined pharmaceutical group Johnson & Johnson’s JLabs accelerator the month before.
