Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a US-based biopharmaceutical company which is developing RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics, has closed a $60m series C financing. The round was led by new investor, private investment bank RA Capital, with the participation of new investors, investments firms Brookside Capital, Deerfield, and Omega Funds. All of Dicerna’s existing institutional investors also particpated: Abingworth Management, Domain Associates, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Skyline Ventures and SR One, the corporate venture capital arm of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
Previously, Dicerna raised $25m series B financing in August 2010, and $13m series A financing in November 2007.
Proceeds from the series C financing will be used to advance two or more programs into the clinic and to progress other preclinical programs. The company also plans to use the proceeds to continue to develop innovative drug delivery systems, which combine Dicerna’s DsiRNA molecules with targeting moieties allowing for direct delivery into specific cells of interest.
Peter Kolchinsky, RA Capital’s partner who has joined Dicerna’s board of directors, said: “The company’s novel approach to RNAi will allow it to develop therapeutics with greater potency and enhanced delivery potential, differentiating it from other RNAi approaches. I look forward to working closely with the board as the company transitions multiple preclinical programs into human clinical trials over the next 12 to 18 months.”
Douglas Fambrough, chief executive officer of Dicerna, said: “With our new and current investor support, we have the necessary resources to continue Dicerna’s progression into a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.”
The company anticipates that its first human trials will begin in early 2014.