US-based cell therapy developer Nohla Therapeutics completed a $45m series B round on Tuesday featuring pharmaceutical firm Celgene.
Alexandria Venture Investments, part of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, also invested, as did financial services group Fidelity Management and Research, Arch Venture Partners, 5AM Ventures and AML Biotech Partners.
Nohla is working on cell therapies for sufferers of diseases such as cancer. They are intended to help bone marrow function in the short term, and to help improve the functioning of the immune system in the longer term.
The funding will support phase 2 clinical trials of Nohla’s lead drug candidate, dilanubicel, in allogeneic transplant and chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression. The trials, currently in progress, are expected to be followed by a phase 3 trial that will also benefit from the series B cash.
Katie Fanning, Nohla’s president and CEO, said: “The financing announced today allows us to build on the progress we are making in advancing our lead clinical product, dilanubicel, toward potential regulatory approvals in multiple regions.
“The additional funding will also fuel further research of our other off-the-shelf discovery programs in support of our mission to provide meaningful therapies to patients with significant unmet needs.”
Nohla received its first funding, a $21m investment, from unnamed institutional investors in a round that closed at the end of 2015. Arch Venture Partners, 5AM Ventures and Jagen Group provided a further $43.5m in a late 2016 series A round, the latter as an existing backer.