US-based biologic medicine developer Aro Biotherapeutics has completed a $13m funding round featuring Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, the strategic investment vehicle for medical product group Johnson & Johnson.
The round also featured BioMotiv, the biotech accelerator associated with The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, a $300m joint partnership formed by the Harrington Family and University Hospitals of Cleveland.
Aro researches and develops medicines based on small, non-antibody protein therapeutics called centyrins in order to treat cancer and other diseases. The centyrins platform targets multiple cell surface receptors, delivering complex drug payloads to specific cell types and tissues.
The company’s lead drug candidate, ABX901, targets non-small cell lung cancer as well as forms of skin cancer and gastrointestinal cancers. Its second therapeutic program is focused on other forms of cancer.
Chief executive Sue Dillon and chief scientific officer Karyn O’Neil, Aro’s co-founders, previously held leadership positions within the research and development division of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen.