Disc Medicine, a US-based developer of treatments for haematologic diseases, brought in $90m in a series B round yesterday featuring Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Pharmaceutical firm Novo and diversified conglomerate Access Industries’ biotech arm Access Biotechnology also took part in the round, which was led by OrbiMed.
Arix BioScience, 5AM Ventures, Janus Henderson Investors, Rock Springs Capital, Nanthala Capital Management, Willett Advisors and Atlas Venture filled out the list of participants.
Disc Medicine develops treatments for a range of diseases affecting the blood, focusing on the biology of red blood cells.
Proceeds from the round will allow Disc Medicine to advance its pipeline of drug candidates, including phase 2 studies for bitopertin, an orally administered molecule inhibitor to treat a range of blood disorders, and DISC-0974, a monoclonal antibody to treat anaemia.
Novo led the company’s $50m series A round in 2019, with Access Biotechnology and Atlas Venture also investing. The latter had already provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2017.
John Quisel, chief executive of Disc Medicine, said: “We are honoured to have the support of this leading group of investors, who share our vision and recognise the far-reaching impact our programs can have on the lives of patients.
“We have made immense progress this year and have established a strong foundation for growth, including building a portfolio of first-in-class, clinical-stage treatments and assembling a strong leadership team with the capabilities to advance these programs deep into development.
“This financing will accelerate the next stage of our journey as we enter clinical studies in patients next year.”
