US-based precision cancer therapy developer Strata Oncology has closed a $90m series C round led by investment manager Wellington Management that included pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Merck & Co.
Cormorant Asset Management, Monashee Investment Management, Highside Capital Management, Arboretum Ventures, Deerfield Management, Baird Capital and Renaissance Venture Capital Fund also contributed to the round.
Pfizer and Merck participated through respective corporate venturing units Pfizer Ventures and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (Merck GHI), and JP Morgan was sole placement agent for the round. The company said its overall funding stands at over $130m.
Strata is working on a genomic profiling test called StrataNGS that utilises molecular profiling, a large-scale clinical trial platform and real-world data analytics to identify effective treatments for individual cancer patients.
The series C proceeds have been earmarked for further development of a personalised minimal residual disease assay for early-stage cancers as well as a selection of RNA-based treatment selection tests focusing on solid tumours.
Arboretum Ventures, Baird Capital and existing investor Michigan eLab supplied $12m in series A funding for the company in 2016. The first two returned two years later for a $26m series B round also backed by Pfizer Ventures, Merck GHI, Deerfield and Renaissance.
