Pharmaceutical and cosmetics producer Pierre Fabre has acquired a stake in US-based autoimmune and inflammatory drug developer ValenzaBio in connection with a $70m series A round for the latter.
Investment and financial services group Fidelity Management & Research, Surveyor Capital, Ikarian Capital, Janus Henderson Investors and Opaleye Management supplied the series A funds while Pierre Fabre took its stake through a recent license and commercialisation deal.
ValenzaBio’s pipeline includes VB119, a monoclonal antibody being developed to treat autoantibody-mediated diseases such as membranous nephropathy that is slated to enter clinical trials in the next three months, and B421, an antibody licensed from Pierre Fabre for inflammatory disorders including thyroid eye disease.
Patrick Crutcher, ValenzaBio’s president and CEO, said: “Since our founding, we have been focused on building a pipeline of differentiated monoclonal antibodies targeting clinically-validated mechanisms of action, and for which biomarker-driven approaches can enable rapid development strategies.
“We have attracted an exceptional team of drug discoverers and developers, that when combined with our pipeline and the capital raised from this leading group of investors, positions us well to ultimately bring new and improved therapies to patients with limited or no treatment options.”
The startup had previously received $15m in seed funding from founding investors Ikarian Capital, Janus Henderson and Opaleye in February 2020.
