US-based biopharmaceutical company Ovid Therapeutics closed a $75m series B round yesterday featuring Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Sanofi.
The round was led by Fidelity Management and Research Company and included Cowen Private Investments, Tekla Capital Management, Sphera Global Healthcare Fund, Jennison Associates, Redmile Group, Cormorant Asset Management, DoubleLine Equity Healthcare Fund and undisclosed blue chip mutual funds and leading life sciences investors.
Ovid was founded in 2014 and is working on treatments for rare and orphan brain diseases. The oversubscribed series B round will support Phase 2 clinical testing of its OV101 candidate for Angelman Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome that will begin in 2016.
Funding will also be used to expand the company’s pipeline and advance additional compounds into the clinical testing stage. Ovid previously raised $5.1m in March this year from backers including DoubleLine.
Jeremy Levin, Ovid’s chief executive and chairman, said: “Over the last year, we have rapidly executed on our strategy with the support of our investors, patients, their families, foundations, physicians and corporate partners.
“Looking to the future, this financing is an important next step toward our goal to build Ovid into a leading neurology company.”
Cowen and Company acted as the sole placement agent for the round, while Hogan Lovells served as counsel to Ovid.