US-based small molecule drug developer Dice Molecules closed an $80m series C round on Friday featuring Sanofi Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Sanofi.
RA Capital Management led the round, which also attracted spinout-focused investment firm Osage University Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities,
Eventide Asset Management, New Leaf Venture Partners, Soleus Capital, Driehaus Capital Management, Asymmetry Capital Management, Northpond Ventures, Sands Capital, Altitude Life Science Ventures and Agent Capital completed the series C investors.
Founded in 2014, Dice has developed a drug discovery platform leveraging technology dubbed DNA-encoded library, which it hopes will make it possible to target a range of conditions with oral treatments rather than requiring injections.
The company’s lead asset targets a category of proteins known as IL-17, which induces inflammation and plays a role in autoimmune conditions such as psoriasis. The funding will allow it to advance the potential therapy into clinical trials and support the development of its preclinical portfolio.
Jake Simson, a partner at RA Capital Management, will join Dice’s board of directors in connection with the round, which comes after Dice received more than $50m in equity funding, fees and research services from Sanofi in 2016 as part of a collaboration agreement.
Regulatory filings indicate Dice secured $4m in 2015 and $40.5m in 2018. Sanofi Ventures, Northpond Ventures, Sands Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, Altitude Life Science Ventures and Agent Capital were all identified as returning investors in the series C round.
