Pharmaceutical firms Taiho and GlaxoSmithKline have co-led a $60m series A round for US-headquartered protein-engineering technology developer Dren Bio through corporate venturing subsidiaries Taiho Ventures and SR One.
The round included Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, as well as Mission BioCapital, BVF Partners, HBM Healthcare Investments and 8VC.
Dren is working on technology intended to deplete cells and protein aggregates that cause disease. It is predominantly targeting solid cancers and haematologic neoplasms but is also investigating protein aggregation-related diseases and autoimmune disorders.
The series A proceeds will go to advancing DR-01, an antibody-based candidate aimed at treat rare lymphomas and forms of leukaemia in addition to phenotypes of autoimmune disorders, through early clinical development alongside DR-02, an antibody-based platform designed to deplete disease-causing agents such as malevolent cells.
Taiho Ventures president Sakae Asanuma said: “In oncology, the DR-02 platform could enable direct and selective depletion of cancer cells accompanied by localised immune stimulation.
“The technology is also demonstrating the potential to eliminate agents in diverse diseases, including infections and protein aggregation. We are proud to recognise Dren’s potential at an early stage and support its success.”
Asanuma and SR One partner Rajeev Dadoo both have seats on Dren’s board of directors. The latest funding came in the wake of a $6m seed round led by 8VC in July 2019 that also featured Mission BioCapital and undisclosed angel investors from the pharmaceutical industry.
