Prism BioLab, a Japan-based peptide mimetics technology developer backed by pharmaceutical firm Ohara Pharmaceutical, has raised ¥1.3bn ($11.8m) in a series C round led by venture capital firm DCI Partners.
The round included Development Bank of Japan’s DBJ Capital unit as well as Newton BioCapital Partners, Healthcare Innovation and Gemseki.
Founded in 2006 as Prism Pharma, Prism BioLab is developing small-molecule drug discovery technology targeting hitherto undruggable proteins. It has two clinical-stage programmes, focusing on cancer and fibrosis.
The company was formed as a result of a merger between Prism Pharma and its Prism BioLab subsidiary in 2018. The combined entity’s first funding was a $5.4m round in early 2019 featuring seven investors including Ohara Pharmaceutical and WM Partners.
DBJ Capital had acquired all the Prism Pharma shares held by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) in 2016, after both investors had taken part in a $15m series C round three years before.
