US-based precision oncology drug developer TP Therapeutics closed an $80m mezzanine financing round on Friday backed by Lilly Asia Ventures and SR One, subsidiaries of pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline.
The round was co-led by venture capital firms Foresite Capital and VenBio Partners and also featured VC firm Nextech Invest and investment firms HBM Healthcare Investments and Orbimed.
TP is developing medicines intended to combat forms of cancer that have proven resistant to other treatments. It will use the funding to progress its lead drug candidate, Repotrectinib, into a phase 2 potential registration study for non-small cell lung cancer and NTRK-positive solid tumours.
The funding was announced in conjunction with the promotion of TP’s chief medical officer Athena Countouriotis to CEO, replacing co-founder and chairman Peter Li, who will instead head the company’s Asia subsidiary.
Countouriotis said: “With the completion of the mezzanine financing, we are well funded to execute on our clinical and preclinical programs. I am pleased we have attracted this top-tier syndicate of investors.”
TP had previously raised more almost $145m in funding according to regulatory filings. Lilly Asia Ventures and SR One co-led its last round, a $45m series C in May 2017 that included OrbiMed and existing backers Cormorant Asset Management and SV Tech Ventures.
