US-based microbial therapeutics developer Evelo Biosciences closed a $50m series B round yesterday that included pharmaceutical companies Celgene and Mayo Clinic, and GV, a subsidiary of internet technology group Alphabet.
The round was filled out by Flagship Pioneering, the biotech company builder that incubated Evelo, and Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Founded in November 2015 with $35m of series A funding from Flagship Pioneering, Evelo is developing a new type of medicine called monoclonal microbials to treat a range of diseases by interacting with human cells in the gut.
The therapeutics are being developed to combat autoimmune, immuno-inflammatory, metabolic, neurological and neuroinflammatory diseases as well as cancer.
The proceeds will support the growth of Evelo’s technology platform as well as clinical studies for oncology and immuno-inflammatory diseases that are scheduled to take place in 2018.
Noubar Afeyan, Evelo chairman and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, said: “The development of monoclonal microbials is opening up new possibilities to help patients and enable a whole new modality of medicines.
“Evelo is pioneering the translation of new discoveries on the interactions between the microbiome and the immune system into a powerful new platform for treating a broad range of diseases.
“This growth-stage investment from Flagship and other leaders in innovation and life sciences enables Evelo to advance several monoclonal microbials into clinical trials and to further expand and scale our platform.”