US-based digital drug therapeutics developer Chrono Therapeutics completed a $47.6m series B round yesterday led by Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for care consortium Kaiser Permanente.
Other corporate participants in the round were GE Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of industrial product maker General Ventures, healthcare researcher Mayo Clinic, chemicals producer Asahi Kasei and Hikma Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle for Hikma Pharmaceuticals.
The round was filled out by Canaan Partners, 5AM Ventures, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Endeavour Vision, Xeraya Capital Labuan, Emergent Medical Partners, Cota Capital and Mission Bay Capital.
Chrono is working on wearable technology that combines digital support with timed transdermal drug delivery. Clinical development of its first product, which will help users stop smoking, will be supported by the series B capital.
The company’s timed drug delivery platform could also be utilised for pain management and the treatment of drug addiction and Parkinson’s disease in future.
Kaiser Permanente Ventures director Liz Rockett has joined Chrono Therapeutics’ board of directors in connection with the round. She said: “Chrono Therapeutics’ platform has the potential to more effectively address nicotine addiction, a leading cause of death and illness around the world and a significant public health challenge.
“According to the [US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], over 40% of smokers try to quit each year, only a fraction of them succeed. We expect our investment to help Chrono achieve its mission to dramatically improve the tools that help people quit smoking.”
By email she added: “If you look at our portfolio, we are flexible vis a vis lead — we can play lead or participant, depending on the deal. And right on pace for fund deployment based on the market we see.”
– Image courtesy of Chrono Therapeutics Inc.
The round follows a $32m series A round in 2014 co-led by Canaan Partners and 5AM Ventures and backed by Mayo Clinic, GE Ventures and Fountain Healthcare Ventures.