US-based oncology therapy developer Forty Seven closed a $75m series B round on Tuesday featuring GV, the early-stage corporate venturing arm of internet technology conglomerate Alphabet.
The round was led by investment firm Wellington Management and included venture capital firms Clarus Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Founded in 2015 as a spinout from Stanford University, Forty Seven is developing immuno-oncology antibodies. Its lead candidate, Hu5F9-G4, is expected to tackle the overproduction in cancer cells of a protein called CD47, which is thought to inhibit the cancer immune response.
Hu5F9-G4 is currently undergoing five clinical trials in the phase 1b and phase 1b/2 stages with solid tumours, leukaemia and lymphoma. The series B cash will be used to further assess the performance of Hu5F9-G4.
Mark McCamish, chief executive of Forty Seven, said: “The financing allows us to rigorously explore the clinical response of different tumours to Hu5F9-G4 mono and combination-therapy and determine the optimal pathway to rapidly bring this new treatment option to patients.”
Forty Seven had raised $34.1m out of a $75m series A round as of March 2016, according to a regulatory filing. The tranche was co-led by Lightspeed and Sutter Hill with participation from GV and Clarus Ventures.
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine had previously provided $30m in funding to support preclinical development, according to Xconomy. Ludwig Cancer Research is also a shareholder, though no details of its investment are public.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.