US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Blackthorn Therapeutics has raised an extra $14m from investors including GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet technology conglomerate Alphabet, increasing its series A round to $54m.
Venture capital firm Biomatics Capital also took part in the second tranche, which added to an October 2016 first close featuring Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, the corporate venturing arm of healthcare group Johnson & Johnson.
That first close was led by VC firm Arch Venture Partners, while life sciences real estate provider Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Mercury Fund, Altitude Life Science Ventures and an unnamed additional investor also contributed.
Blackthorn was founded by Arch in collaboration with several research institutes and is developing therapies for neurobehavioural disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, autism, obsessive compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.
The company will use the additional cash to advance its lead candidate through a phase 2 clinical trial and to research additional candidates.
Blake Byers, general partner at GV, said: “Treatment options for people with neurobehavioural disorders are often imprecise and inadequate. Blackthorn is addressing these limitations by developing small molecules modulating targets expressed in key brain regions and regulating behaviours integral to multiple disorders.
“With deep central nervous system expertise and the technology to advance its drug development pipeline, Blackthorn is well positioned to make a significant impact in the field of neurobehavioural therapeutics.”