US-based microbiome therapy developer Vedanta Biosciences secured $25m from pharmaceutical firm Pfizer’s Breakthrough Growth Initiative yesterday.
Founded by pharmaceutical company PureTech Health in 2010, Vedanta is developing a lead drug candidate, VE202, that will target immune-mediated diseases using human microbiome bacteria. The cash will fund a phase 2 clinical trial for VE202 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Pfizer Breakthrough Growth Initiative was formed in June 2020 with $500m in capital to fund biotechnology developers. It has already deployed $120m, also backing publicly-listed biotech companies ESSA Pharma, Homology Medicines and Trillium Therapeutics in 2020.
Michael Vincent, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer of inflammation and immunology research unit, has joined Vedanta’s scientific advisory board. In addition, the company has given Pfizer a right of first negotiation on VE202.
Vedanta closed a $62m series C round in 2019 featuring pharmaceutical group Bristol-Myers Squibb, chemicals manufacturer JSR and hospital services firm Symbiosis.
The series C round also included Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FC Capital, Invesco, Partners Investment, Quad Investment Management, Rock Springs Capital, Seventure Partners, Shinhan Capital-Yeollim Partners, Shinhan Investment-Private Equity, Shumway Capital and SV Investment.
The company had previously raised an undisclosed sum from Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation in 2018, after a $50m round featuring PureTech, Rock Springs, Invesco and Health For Life Capital two years before.
