Pharmaceutical research company Akebia Therapeutics secured an additional $4.1m tranche to add to its $22m series B round on Monday from a pool of investors including Novartis Bioventures, a corporate venturing fund belonging to pharmaceutical corporation Novartis.
Additional participants in the round thus far include venture capital (VC) firms Venture Investors, Triathlon Medical Ventures, Athenian Venture Partners, Sigvion Capital and Kearny Venture Partners, and VC fund AgeChem Venture Fund.
The round follows a $28m series A round raised in 2010, bringing Akebia’s total financing to $54.1m.
The capital will be used to advance Phase 2 clinical studies for Akebia’s program for treating anemia, a blood condition where the body does not produce sufficient red blood cells, and to locate a partner for Phase 3 studies.
In addition to the financing, Akebia announced that two of its products, an activator and a stabiliser, have been spun out to a newly formed, separate biotechnology company, to be known as Aerpio Therapeutics.
Campbell Murray, managing director of Novartis Venture Funds, said: "This transaction provides investors the opportunity to capture both the near-term and long-term value of these promising programs."