Sonoma Biotherapeutics, a US-headquartered immunotherapy developer, has raised $265m in a series B round featuring corporates Alphabet, Eli Lilly, Dong-A ST and Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
The round was led by private equity firm Ally Bridge Group and backed by investment and financial services group Fidelity Management & Research Company.
They were joined by Osage University Partners, ArrowMark Partners, Avidity Partners, Casdin Capital, Deep Track Capital, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Janus Henderson Investors, Mirae Asset, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital, Vertex Ventures HC and an undisclosed investment fund.
Existing investors 8VC, Arch Venture Partners, the JDRF T1D Fund, LifeForce Capital and Octagon Capital also contributed to the round.
Internet and technology group Alphabet invested via its subsidiary GV, while pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly and Dong-A ST deployed capital through respective investment arms Lilly Asia Ventures Biosciences and NS Investment. Life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities took part through its corporate venturing unit Alexandria Venture Investments.
Founded in 2019, Sonoma uses genome editing to develop regulatory T-cells (Treg) therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, with the aim of targeting tissues with high specificity, delivering long-lasting efficacy and inducing durable immune system balance.
The company is also working on a biologic therapy that conditions patients by selectively depleting T effector cells (Teff), which can be responsible for uncontrolled inflammation and overactive immunity.
Sonoma intends to use the funding to advance its Treg cell therapy platform and Teff conditioning therapy into the clinic, while further expanding its manufacturing capabilities to support supply for its initial clinical studies.
Sonoma has raised more than $335m in overall funding to date. The company collected an initial $40m series A round in February 2020, featuring immuno-oncology drug developer Lyell Immunopharma. Milky Way Ventures, Arch Venture Partners and 8VC also took part in the investment.
The company increased its series A round to $70m in October 2020, through a $30m extension provided by a pool of investors, including Lyell Immunopharma, Lilly Asia Ventures Biosciences and Alexandria Venture Investments.
Arch Venture Partners, 8VC, LifeForce Capital, Octagon Capital and the JDRF T1D Fund also contributed to the capital injection.