Pulmocide, a UK-based developer of therapies for serious acute and chronic respiratory diseases, secured $92m in series C commitments today from investors including pharmaceutical firms Asahi Kasei, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson.
Investment company Jeito Capital led the oversubscribed round, which also attracted F-Prime Capital, a subsidiary of investment and financial services group Fidelity, as well as IP Group, Adjuvant Capital, SV Health Investors and Longwood Fund.
GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson invested through SR One and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC respectively. The money will be provided in tranches subject to milestones.
Founded in 2007, Pulmocide is focusing on respiratory diseases and its lead asset, PC945, is an inhaled therapy for patients suffering from invasive pulmonary aspergillosis – a severe fungal infection with a high mortality rate – who have not responded to other treatments.
The series C financing will primarily go towards advancing PC945 through a phase 3 trial. Jaito Capital managing partner Sabine Dandiguian and Kabeer Aziz, co-founder and principal at Adjuvant, have joined the company’s board of directors in connection with the round.
Pulmocide had previously raised $30m in a 2017 series B round backed by SR One, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, F-Prime Capital, Longwood Fund, Touchstone Innovations (subsequently acquired by IP Group) and SV Health Investors (then known as SV Life Sciences).
Johnson & Johnson, F-Prime Capital (then known as Fidelity Biosciences), SV Health Investors and Touchstone Innovations (then known as Imperial Innovations) had provided $27.8m in series A funding for the company in 2013.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.