US-based infectious disease treatment developer Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT) increased the size of a series B round already featuring medical research and care provider Mayo Clinic to $61m yesterday.
The $20m top-up came from AMR Action Fund, a private-public partnership backed by European Investment Bank and pharmaceutical firms including Pfizer, Novartis, Takeda, Merck Group, Merck & Co and GlaxoSmithKline dedicated to countering antibacterial resistance.
The company raised the initial $40.8m in a May 2021 first tranche led by Deerfield Management and backed by Mayo Clinic, which had itself led a $7m convertible note round the previous year.
APT is developing treatments for multi-drug resistant infections, cataloguing bacteria and matching phages – viruses that only kill selected bacteria – to target and fight them. The extra funds will support clinical trials for therapeutics aimed at treat prosthetic joint infection and diabetic foot osteomyelitis.
Alexandria Venture Investments, the corporate venturing arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, took part in a $7m round for the company in 2019 alongside an undisclosed healthcare delivery provider and an unnamed speciality life sciences company.
AMR Action Fund’s chief investment officer, Martin Heidecker, is joining APT’s board in conjunction with the latest funding.
Greg Merril, APT’s chief executive, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the AMR Action Fund as an investor. In addition to their capital, the AMR Action Fund adds significant strategic value, including advisory and scientific support.
“We believe AMR Action Fund will be an ideal partner to help progress and accelerate APT’s mission to provide an effective therapeutic response to the global rise of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections.”
Photo courtesy of Adaptive Phage Therapeutics.
