US-based oncology treatment developer Aura Biosciences closed a $40m series D round on Tuesday featuring Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Chiesi Ventures, corporate venturing vehicles for pharmaceutical firms Lundbeck and Chiesi Group.
Life sciences-focused investment firm Medicxi led the round, which also featured Arix Bioscience, Advent Life Sciences, Columbus Venture Partners, Ysios Capital and unspecified existing investors.
Founded in 2009, Aura Biosciences is working on a clinical-stage drug candidate called AU-011 to combat a rare and aggressive form of ocular cancer known as choroidal melanoma without the requirement for surgical procedures.
AU-011 functions as a light-activated therapy, utilising an ophthalmic laser to selectively bind viral-like particle bioconjugates to receptors on cancer cells while sparing healthy parts of the eye so that the patient’s vision can be preserved.
Aura will put the proceeds from the round into AU-011’s further development, having secured orphan drug and fast-track status for the candidate from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Giovanni Mariggi, a partner at Medicxi, will join the company’s board of directors in conjunction with the round. It has now raised approximately $110m in funding in addition to $2.7m in debt financing
Advent Life Sciences led Aura’s $22m series B round in 2015, which included Chiesi Ventures as well as Ysios Capital, Henri Termeer and Alexandria Venture Investments, a subsidiary of life sciences real estate trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Aura secured another $8m the following year, from Chiesi Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Advent Partners and Ysios Capital.
All four returned for a $30m series C round in late 2017 that was co-led by Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Arix Bioscience and backed by scientific apparatus maker Li-Cor Biosciences, Columbus Venture Partners and Termeer.