Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, the venture capital subsidiary of healthcare company Johnson & Johnson, has participated in a financing round for Assembly Pharmaceuticals, a US-based virology-focused biopharmaceutical company.
The exact investment sum wasn’t disclosed, but the round, Assembly’s first, was also supported by venture capital firm BioCrossroads, Twilight Venture Partners, Luson Bioventures and a handful of private individuals.
Assembly will use the investment to advance its research into a cure for hepatitis B, which affects 350 million people worldwide. A new set of laboratories will also be established in San Francisco.
JJDC specifically targets and invests in healthcare technology companies and it has already backed biotech startups PowerVision and TopiVert so far in 2014.