Pharmaceutical firm Novartis led a $100m series C round for US-based fibrosis therapy developer Pliant Therapeutics yesterday that increased its total funding to $207m.
Redmile, Farallon Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital, Logos Capital, Eventide Asset Management, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Schroder Adveq, Menlo Ventures, SCubed Capital, Agent Capital and unnamed additional backers filled out the round.
Pliant is working on treatments that can either slow or halt the progression of life-threatening fibrotic diseases. Its lead asset, PLN-74809, is aimed at idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis – which results in scarring of the lung – and primary sclerosing cholangitis, which affects the liver and causes scarring of the ducts that allow bile to drain from the gallbladder.
The company is also developing PLN-1474 for the treatment of liver fibrosis associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis – the inflammation of liver tissue and a damaging build-up of fat in the organ – in partnership with Novartis.
Venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures formed Pliant in 2016 to advance research conducted at University of California, San Francisco by professors Dean Sheppard, Bill DeGrado and Hal Chapman together with associate professor Bradley Backes.
The series C capital has been allocated to the continued development of PLN-74809, which is currently in phase 2a trials, in addition to the company’s drug discovery pipeline.
Cowen Healthcare Investments previously led Pliant’s $62m series B round in July 2018, investing with Eventide Asset Management, Schroder Adveq, Menlo Ventures, SCubed, Agent Capital and undisclosed institutional investors.
The company launched with $45m in series A funding, though it is unclear whether Third Rock provided the entire sum or was joined by other investors.
