US-based cancer drug developer Sutro Biopharma has raised $85.4m in a series E round featuring pharmaceutical firms Celgene, Amgen, Merck & Co and Eli Lilly.
The round was co-led by investment firm Samsara BioCapital and Surveyor Capital, a subsidiary of asset manager Citadel, and included Skyline Ventures, SV Health Investors, Eventide, Nexthera Capital, Vida Ventures and funds managed by Tekla Capital Management.
Amgen and Eli Lilly participated through subsidiaries Amgen Ventures and Lilly Ventures, while Merck’s investment included a commitment to future funding. Samsara BioCapital partner Mike Dybbs will join the board of directors at Sutro.
Sutro is developing immuno-oncology therapeutics, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies to treat various cancers and will use part of the series E funding to accelerate its pipeline and improve its core technology.
Additional proceeds will support an ongoing phase 1 clinical trial for an ADC known as STRO-001 for lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and a phase 2 trial for a second, STRO-002, in ovarian and endometrial cancer, which is expected to commence in 2019.
Bill Newell, chief executive of Sutro, said: ”With this latest round of funding, Sutro has raised over $175m since its founding in 2003 – a vote of confidence in our work on a new generation of novel, targeted therapies with the potential for improved therapeutic profiles.”
Amgen Ventures, Celgene, Lilly Ventures, Alta Partners, Skyline Ventures and SV Life Sciences had previously provided $26m for Sutro in a 2013 series D round, all but Celgene having also backed its $36.5m series C three years earlier.