US-based drug developer Viracta Therapeutics has closed the first tranche of a series B round led by immunotherapy company NantKwest that could grow to $18.4m.
Although Viracta issued a press release on Tuesday announcing the round, it did not disclose how much it has raised so far. However, a securities filing yesterday stated it has raised $9.9m of a round that could be up to $26.9m in size.
Venture capital firm Wicklow Capital has also contributed to the round, as have founding investors Latterell Venture Partners and Forward Ventures. The company has raised a total of $67.5m according to press releases and regulatory filings.
Founded in 2007 and formerly known as HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, Viracta will use the funding to advance its lead drug candidate, VRx-3996, into phase 2 clinical studies to treat malignancies associated with a type of herpes called Epstein Barr Virus (EBV).
VRx-3996 will also be licensed to NantKwest in conjunction with the deal so the corporate can use it as part of a package of natural killer cell therapies. Patrick Soon-Shiong, chairman and CEO of NantKwest, will join Viracta’s board of directors as vice-chairman.
Lilly Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, took part in HemaQuest’s $20m series A round in 2007 alongside De Novo Ventures and Forward Ventures, before all three returned for an Aberdare Ventures-backed series B round.
The series B initially closed at $16.1m in 2010 before Lilly Ventures, Aberdare Ventures, De Novo Ventures, Forward Ventures and Latterell Venture Partners added $13m two years later.