US-based drug developer Kallyope has closed a $87m series B round after raising $21m from investors including Illumina Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of genomics technology producer Illumina.
The extension was led by entrepreneur Bill Gates and included all Kallyope’s previous investors including Illumina and Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Lux Capital, The Column Group, Polaris Partners, Euclidean Capital and Two Sigma Ventures also participated. The company received the first $66m in February 2018.
Kallyope is developing therapeutics to treat health defects that occur when the gut communicates with the brain.
The company targets the gut-brain circuits with small molecules to treat metabolic and gastrointestinal diseases and central nervous system disorders. It also recently began examining peptide therapeutics for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.
Kallyope launched in 2015 having raised $44m from Illumina Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Lux Capital, Polaris Partners, Column Group and Tony Evnin, a partner at VC firm Venrock.
Nancy Thornberry, chief executive of Kallyope, said: “We are grateful for the support of Mr Gates and the renewed support of our current investors, who all share Kallyope’s vision that a comprehensive understanding of gut-brain circuits will allow us to target diseases of high unmet need in a fundamentally new way.
“This additional infusion of capital will enable us to maximise the value of our platform and more rapidly advance our programs.”