Relay Therapeutics, a US-based developer of protein-focused medicines, closed a $400m series C round led by SoftBank Vision Fund, the $98.6bn fund run by telecommunications firm Softbank, yesterday.
GV, an early-stage investment vehicle for internet technology group Alphabet, also took part in the round, as did Alexandria Venture Investments, the strategic investment division of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
DE Shaw, Casdin Capital, BVF Partners, EcoR1 Capital, Foresite Capital, Perceptive Advisors and Tavistock Group also participated in the round.
Founded in 2016, Relay is developing medicines that exploit the structural changes undergone by protein molecules in a patient in order to treat cancer and other diseases.
The company will spend the proceeds on expanding its pipeline and advancing its lead programs into clinical testing, as it looks to also increase headcount.
The round increased Relay’s total funding to $520m and comes after it raised $63m in a December 2017 series B led by BVF Partners that included GV, Alexandria Venture Investments, Third Rock Ventures, Casdin Capital, EcoR1 Capital and Section 32.
The company had previously secured $57m in series A funding from DE Shaw Research and Third Rock Ventures in September 2016.
Deep Nishar, senior managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, investment adviser for Vision Fund, said: “We are proud to support Relay Therapeutics’ world-class team expand its efforts across a larger number of programs and therapeutic areas to develop tomorrow’s life-saving treatments.”