NextCure, a US-based immuno-oncology technology startup, raised $93m on Tuesday in a series B round featuring insurance group Ping An and pharmaceutical companies Taiho, Pfizer and Eli Lilly.
Hillhouse Capital Management and Quan Capital co-led the round, which featured Bay City Capital, Surveyor Capital, NS Investment, Canaan Partners, OrbiMed Advisors, Sofinnova Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments, part of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Founded in 2015, NextCure develops immunotherapies for cancer and other diseases through its FIND-IO technology platform, which identifies the molecular interactions on the cell surface that trigger functional immune responses.
Eli Lilly, Ping An and Taiho participated in the round through subsidiaries Lilly Asia Ventures, which invested $15m in connection with a discovery and development partnership agreed with NextCure earlier this month, Ping An Ventures and Taiho Ventures.
NextCure received an additional $25m in the form of an upfront payment from Eli Lilly through the collaboration and will be eligible for royalty payments should the corporate develop and commercialise new cancer therapies through the partnership.
The company will use the series B capital to finance the clinical development of two drug candidates, including NC318, which will target myeloid and tumour cells. It will also fund preclinical development of additional drug candidates and support the Eli Lilly partnership.
Michael Richman, president and chief executive of NextCure, said: “We are excited to welcome a distinguished group of new investors to NextCure and appreciate the strong support from our existing investors.
“We have made tremendous progress in the past 2.5 years, and look forward to the continued clinical development of NC318 and advancement of our growing portfolio of first-in-class immunomedicines.”
NextCure had previously secured $67m in a 2016 series A round featuring Pfizer, Eli Lilly unit Lilly Asia Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Canaan Partners, OrbiMed Advisors and Sofinnova Ventures.