US-based drug developer Frequency Therapeutics closed a $42m series B round on Monday that included the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Alexandria Venture Investments was joined by venture capital firm Taiwania Capital, which led the round, and Axil Capital, a VC fund spun out of investment banking firm Mizuho Securities.
Yonjin Capital, a subsidiary of holding group Yonjin Group, also took part in the round, along with Polaris Founders Capital, CoBro Ventures, Korea Investment Partners and Emigrant Capital.
Frequency is working on small-molecules drugs intended to repair diseased or damaged tissue by stimulating progenitor cells in the body. Its lead product candidate, FX-322, focuses on regenerating and treating hearing loss associated with noise exposure.
In addition to supporting the advance of FX-322, proceeds from the round will also be used to expand the company’s Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) platform to other therapeutic areas.
Joel Marcus, executive chairman and founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities and Alexandria Venture Investments, will join Frequency’s board of directors together with Michael Huang, managing partner of Taiwania.
CoBro Ventures led Frequency’s $32m series A round in 2017, which included Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Morningside Ventures, Emigrant Capital and Korean Investment Partnership.
The company also received a $2m grant from US Department of Defense in March 2018 to study hearing loss caused by military service-related injuries.