US-based oncology therapeutics developer Circle Pharma secured $45m on Tuesday in a series B round backed by pharmaceutical firm ShangPharma.
Healthcare-focused venture capital fund The Column Group led the round, which included peers Nextech Invest and LifeForce Capital, as well as University of California, Berkeley’s investment vehicle, Berkeley Catalyst Fund.
Circle is developing cancer drugs that are formed around strings of amino acids called peptides which make up structures called macrocycles. It represents a type of therapeutic that has the potential to treat disease targets that have hitherto been regarded as undruggable.
The company has created a computational algorithm prediction system that helps unlock the drug-like effects of macrocycles. It will use the series B funds to support the development of inhibitors of the cyclin A and cyclin E protein families.
Circle began operations when pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and Mission Bay Capital supplied an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2014. ShangPharma added an undisclosed sum to the round in mid-2016.
Mission Bay led a $4.5m series A round for the company in November 2016 that included ShangPharma subsidiary ShangPharma Investment Group, Pfizer and various angel investors.
The $2m second tranche of the series A came five months later and featured Elements Partners, LifeForce Capital, Whitesun Healthcare Ventures and WI Harper Group.
David Earp, president and chief executive of Circle, said: “We are delighted to have these premier life science investors supporting our series B financing.
“With this strong backing, we will expand our team, drive our cyclin-targeted programs towards the clinic, and apply our macrocycle platform to additional intractable targets.”
Peter Svennilson from The Column Group and Thilo Schroeder of Nextech Invest have both joined Circle’s board of directors, which already included Walter H. Moos, CEO of ShangPharma Innovation. The company has also appointed John Josey chairman.
