US-based oncology drug developer Ribon Therapeutics has secured $65m in funding from investors including internet and technology group Alphabet and pharmaceutical firms AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Takeda.
Investment firm Deerfield Management and venture capital firm US Venture Partners (USVP) co-led the round, which included Avego BioScience Capital, Monashee Investment Management, Peregrine Ventures, Osage University Partners (OUP) and Column Group.
GV, AbbVie Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Novartis Venture Fund and Takeda Ventures represented Alphabet, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Takeda respectively, while Bristol Myers Squibb invested directly.
Ribon is developing precision medicines utilising first-in-class small molecule inhibitors which halt cancer and inflammatory cells’ growth. The funding will be used to advance the clinical development of its lead drug candidates: cancer-focused RBN-2397 and the inflammation-targeted RBN-3143.
Novartis Venture Fund had led a $65m series B round for Ribon disclosed when the latter emerged from stealth in early 2019. It included Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Takeda Ventures, pharmaceutical group Celgene, OUP, The Column Group, Deerfield Management, Euclidean Capital and USVP.
The company had previously raised approximately $43.5m from unnamed investors across rounds in 2016 and 2017, according to regulatory filings.
