US-based cancer immunotherapy developer FLX Bio closed a $60m series C round yesterday featuring pharmaceutical company Celgene and GV, an early-stage investment vehicle for conglomerate internet technology group Alphabet.
Private equity firm Topspin Partners also participated in the round alongside venture capital firms The Column Group (TCG) and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and undisclosed additional investors.
FLX is developing small-molecule drugs that target proteins in T-cells and myeloid cells within tumours to activate the immune system.
FLX was formed following the acquisition of its predecessor company, Flexus Biosciences, by biopharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2015 for $1.25bn.
The funding will be used to continue development of FLX’s drug candidates including FLX475, an oral small-molecule antagonist that recently started its first phase 1 clinical trial.
The company had previously raised $50m in an April 2016 series B round featuring Celgene, TCG, KPCB and Topspin. Its series A round brought in $29m, but details of when the round took place and the participants have not been disclosed.
Brian Wong, FLX’s CEO, said: “With a discerning syndicate of investors committed to our science, our strategy and our team, we look forward to using the proceeds of this series C financing to advance our robust pipeline of small molecule immuno-oncology compounds focused on regulatory T-cell and tumour myeloid cell modulation.”