US-based oncology company HiberCell has officially launched with $60.8m of series A funding from investors including pharmaceutical firm Celgene and 6 Dimensions Capital, the strategic investment vehicle co-founded by drug producer WuXi AppTec.
The series A round was led by venture capital firm Arch Venture Partners and also featured municipal investment vehicle NYC Life Sciences Fund and investment firm Hillhouse Capital as well as unnamed institutional, family and private investors.
HiberCell is working on therapeutic drugs for cancers that have expanded beyond the primary tumour site by dispersing small quantities of tumour cells throughout the body, a stage of the disease known as metastatic cancer which is very difficult for clinicians to treat.
The company hopes to uncover an approach to prevent or postpone recurrences of cancer by targeting dormant disseminated tumour cells with the potential to become metastatic lesions.
Alan Rigby, co-founder, president and chief scientific officer for HiberCell, said: “HiberCell is the foundational tumour dormancy company. We know that dormant disseminated tumour cells are critical drivers of cancer metastasis.
“In translating this biology into the clinic, our work will be focused on further defining the characteristic genetics and transcriptomics of dormant disseminated tumor cells and charting a course to leverage our dormancy therapies to improve patient outcomes and survival.”
Ari Nowacek, principal at Arch Venture Partners, has been appointed HiberCell’s vice-president of operations and business development, while 6 Dimensions venture partner Kevin Heyeck and Hillhouse Capital partner Michael Yi have joined its board of directors.