Unity Biotechnology, a US-based developer of therapies for age-related conditions, closed a $55m series C round on Monday featuring 6 Dimensions Capital, the investment vehicle co-founded by pharmaceutical firm WuXi PharmaTech.
Financial services and investment group Fidelity Management and Research (FMR) also contributed to the round, as did EcoR1 Capital Fund, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Baillie Gifford, Partner Fund Management (PFM), Pivotal Alpha, Invus Opportunities, Arch Venture Partners, Venrock, Founders Fund and Longevity Fund.
Unity Biotechnology is working on therapies for a range of diseases related to ageing, specifically those caused by cellular senescence – a condition that means cells stop dividing, leading to diseased tissue.
The funding will enable Unity to advance its lead drug candidates into human clinical trials, including a clinical study for a treatment of osteoarthritis, a type of arthritis that leads to stiff and painful joints.
WuXi PharmaTech, pharmaceutical research firm Mayo Clinic and venture capital firms Arch Venture Partners and Venrock supplied an undisclosed amount of series A funding for Unity ahead of its launch in early 2016.
Unity closed $116m in series B funding later that year, raising money from WuXi Healthcare Ventures and Mayo Clinic Ventures, respective subsidiaries of WuXi PharmaTech and Mayo Clinic, as well as FMR, Arch, Baillie Gifford, PFM, Bezos Expeditions, Vulcan Capital and Founders Fund.
The round was increased to $151m in August 2017, with a $35m extension from Invus Opportunities, Three Lakes Partners, Cycad Group, Pivotal Alpha and Com Investments.
Keith Leonard, chairman and chief executive of Unity Biotechnology, said: “With a focus on extending human healthspan, Unity has developed a portfolio of programs targeting specific biological mechanisms implicated in diseases of ageing.
“With this latest round of financial support, Unity is on track to file its first investigational new drug application and initiate a clinical study during the first half of this year for the potential treatment of osteoarthritis.”