UK-based biotechnology company Adaptimmune has secured $104m in a series A round featuring Denmark-based pharmaceutical company Novo.
The round was led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, with involvement from Fidelity Biosciences, which invests as a subsidiary of fund manager Fidelity Investments, investment firms OrbiMed Advisors and Wellington Management Company, and VC firms Foresite Capital Management, Ridgeback Capital Management, QVT, Rock Springs Capital, VenBio Select and Merlin Nexus.
Adaptimmune specialises in T-cell receptor technology, which it is developing to treat cancer and infectious diseases.
The funding from the oversubscribed round will be used to advance clinical trials against multiple types of cancer, and to double Adaptimmune’s staff.
Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline signed a $350m collaboration and licensing deal with Adaptimmune on its immuno-oncology programme. Adaptimmune received a $3.5m in March from the UK’s Biomedical Catalyst Fund.