Aura Biosciences, a US-based developer of treatments for eye cancer, raised $80m on Monday from investors including Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Chiesi Ventures, on behalf of pharmaceutical firms Lundbeck and Chiesi Group respectively.
Matrix Capital Management and Surveyor Capital co-led the round, which also featured Rock Springs Capital, Adage Capital Management, Velosity Capital, Medicxi, Advent Life Sciences, Arix Bioscience, Columbus Venture Partners and Ysios Capital.
Founded in 2009, Aura is developing virus-like drug conjugates designed to target and destroy specific cancer cells while simultaneously triggering an immune system response against cancer tumours.
The capital injection will fund the clinical development of drug candidates including lead candidate AU-011, which is intended to address choroidal melanoma. The funding will also support research into additional eye cancer candidates and the expansion of its technology platform to bladder cancer.
Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Chiesi Ventures helped Aura close a $40m series D round in April 2019 that was led by Medicxi and filled out by Arix Bioscience, Advent Life Sciences, Columbus Venture Partners, Ysios Capital and unnamed existing backers.
The company had received $30m in a 2017 series C round co-led by Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Arix Bioscience, which invested with scientific apparatus producer Li-Cor Biosciences, Chiesi Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments, an investment vehicle for life science real estate trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Columbus Venture Partners, Henri Termeer, Advent Partners and Ysios Capital also participated in the series C round, which came after Chiesi Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Advent Partners and Ysios Capital supplied $8m for Aura the previous year.
Aura had already raised $22m in a 2015 series B round in 2015 led by Advent Life Sciences that also featured Chiesi Ventures, Ysios Capital, Henri Termeer and Alexandria Venture Investments to take its total funding to more than $33m.