US-based cancer treatment developer Vor Biopharma completed a $110m series B round yesterday that included medical group Johnson & Johnson and pharmaceutical firm PureTech Health.
Investment manager RA Capital Management led the round, which included Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, as well as investment and financial services group Fidelity.
Osage University Partners (OUP), Pagliuca Family Office and 5AM Ventures also participated in the round along with unnamed additional investors. Johnson & Johnson took part through its Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC unit.
Vor is working on therapies based on engineered haematopoietic stem cells (eHSCs), the cells that form the basis for blood cells. Its lead asset, Vor33, is aimed at acute myeloid leukaemia and is expected to avoid the toxicity to blood and bone marrow associated with current treatments.
The series B funding will enable the company to advance Vor33 into clinical trials, expand its portfolio and accelerate the validation of additional targets.
Robert Ang, president and CEO of Vor, said: “The high calibre of investors participating in this financing underscores the tremendous potential of our eHSC platform. We have ambitious goals for the coming year, and this financing is an important step as we prepare to treat cancer patients in our first clinical trials.”
RA Capital and 5AM Ventures co-led Vor’s $42m series A round in February 2019, investing with PureTech Health, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, OUP and Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Novartis.
