Denmark-based biotechnology company Orphazyme has raised €20m ($24m) in a series B round featuring pharmaceutical company Novo, FierceBiotech reported on Friday.
Novo, which invested through its corporate venturing unit Novo Ventures, was joined by IdInvest Partners, the private equity firm backed by insurance company Allianz, as well as Kurma Partners, Sunstone Capital and Aescap Venture.
Orphazyme previously raised $20m in a 2011 series A round backed by Novo, Aescap and Sunstone. It also secured $4.1m in seed funding in 2011 from Novo Seeds, Novo’s seed investment subsidiary, and Sunstone.
The company’s lead product candidate is a treatment for Niemann-Pick disease type C, a rare condition caused by a build-up of cholesterol in cells, leading to neurological problems that are often fatal.
Orphazyme will use the series B funding to support Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment.