US-based irritable bowel syndrome treatment developer OrphoMed has closed $39m a series A round co-led by Takeda Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of drug manufacturer Takeda.
Venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates co-led the round with Takeda Ventures, while existing investors Pappas Capital, Relativity Healthcare Partners and Mario Family Fund also took part.
The funding will be used to progress OrphoMed’s lead candidate, ORP-101, a molecule used to treat irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D) through clinical development.
ORP-101, developed and wholly owned by OrphoMed, is designed to ease abdominal pain associated with IBS-D without penetrating the central nervous system.
Nikhilesh Singh, co-founder and CEO of OrphoMed, said: “We are committed to developing drugs for gastrointestinal and hepatic conditions where there is a need for more efficacious and safer treatments.
“We are excited by the investment from top-tier venture groups, as it validates the company’s technology and strategy to pursue ORP-101, which has the potential to be a superior treatment alternative to existing therapies for IBS-D.”
Frank Torti, partner at NEA, and Arthur Pappas, managing partner at Pappas Capital, will join the OrphoMed board of directors in connection with the round.
Founded in 2015, OrphoMed had previously raised $2.8m in convertible note financing in January 2016, according to a regulatory filing.