Vivo Ventures, a life-sciences focused venture capital firm, has invested in the $21m A round of Aclaris Therapeutics Inc, a US based developer of dermatological therapeutics. Fidelity Biosciences, a division of Fidelity Investments co-led the round with Vivo. The round also saw participation from Sofinnova Ventures, an independent venture capital firm with $1.4bn capital under management.
Aclaris was started by the founders of Vicept Therapeutics. Vicept was acquired by Allergen, a Botox manufacturer for $75m in cash initially and up to a further $200m in performance fees last year.
Founded in 1996, Vivo Ventures has over $1b under management. Vivo has invested in more than 60 private and public biotechnology companies in the areas of biopharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
Chief Executive and President of Aclaris, Dr. Walker said: “We brought together our experienced management team from Vicept to create a new company that will be focused on the development of therapeutics for dermatologists and their patients. We appreciate that our key former investors also support our vision for Aclaris and have funded this Series A financing to help us acquire and advance new therapeutics to the market.”
The news funds will be used to aid the development of a novel topical dermatological product.