ViaCyte, a US-based diabetes therapy developer backed by healthcare products group Johnson & Johnson, has raised $10m from investors including advanced materials manufacturer WL Gore & Associates.
WL Gore, whose product portfolio includes clothing and materials, cables, electrical components, fibres and sealants as well as medical and pharmaceutical products, invested alongside Asset Management Partners and diabetes charity JDRF.
Founded in 1999 as NovoCell, ViaCyte will use the financing to launch clinical trials of Pec-Direct, a potential treatment for type 1 diabetes in patients facing risk of complications, and to support other operations.
Edward Gunzel, technical leader for Gore PharmBio products, said: “We believe that ViaCyte’s capabilities in cell therapy for diabetes are the most advanced in the industry, and we are pleased to bring our material and device expertise to the challenge of developing a functional cure for insulin-requiring diabetes.”
The company raised $16.5m in equity funding from Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), Sanderling Ventures and Asset Management Company (Johnson Trust) in a round that closed in 2014.
Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries Janssen Research & Development and Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) provided $15m of convertible note financing for the company later the same year.
ViaCyte has now raised about $67m in equity financing and approximately $17.5m in convertible note financing, according to press releases and regulatory filings. Its other backers include Hospira, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, as well as BD Ventures, Portage Venture Partners and Clayton Foundation.