US-based cancer therapy developer Checkmate Pharmaceuticals completed an $85m series C round on Wednesday co-led by pharmaceutical firm Novo and venture capital firm Longitude Capital.
The round included BrightEdge and F-Prime Capital, on behalf of charity American Cancer Society and financial services group Fidelity, as well as Medicxi, Omega Funds, Clough Capital Partners, Sectoral Asset Management, Sofinnova Investments, VenBio Partners and Decheng Capital.
Checkmate is working on cancer treatments that help the body’s immune system overcome cancer cells’ ability to suppress an inflammatory response.
The company’s lead asset, CMP-001, is aimed at a form of skin cancer called anti-PD-1 refractory melanoma, and the capital will support its ongoing clinical development. The cash will also allow it to pursue studies in other indications such as front-line melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Nilesh Kumar, partner at Novo subsidiary Novo Ventures, will take a board seat at Checkmate in conjunction with the round, alongside Longitude Capital principal Oren Isacoff.
Kumar said: “We are pleased to join a great investor syndicate in supporting Checkmate. CMP-001 has demonstrated impressive clinical data and we look forward to seeing the program advance in melanoma and additional indications.”
Checkmate closed a series A round featuring Sofinnova Ventures and VenBio at $25m in February 2017 according to a regulatory filing. Both returned for a $27m series B round led by F-Prime Capital four months later.
The company subsequently secured $22m in a December 2018 round led by Decheng Capital, with commitments from Sofinnova, VenBio and F-Prime, closing another $16m from unnamed investors in January 2020 this year.
