Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a San Diego, California-based developer of 2nd generation anti-hormonal agents for hormone-driven cancers, has raised $50m in a Series D financing.
The round was led by venBio, with participation from existing investors Topspin Fund, Aisling Capital, OrbiMed Advisors and The Column Group.
The company intends to use the funding to advance its pipeline of therapies targeting hormone-driven cancers, including ARN-509 for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
In conjunction with the financing, Robert Adelman, M.D., a Managing Partner of venBio, will join Aragon’s board of directors.
Founded in 2009 and led by Richard A. Heyman, Ph.D., President and CEO, Aragon Pharmaceuticals has developed a portfolio of small molecule therapeutics based upon research identifying key molecular events that lead to drug resistance to traditional anti-hormonal therapies. Its most advanced compound, ARN-509, is an androgen receptor antagonist that is currently being evaluated in a Phase II trial in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer.
In addition, the company has a selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) for hormone-sensitive and hormone-resistant estrogen receptor positive breast cancer targeted to begin clinical trials in 2013.
FinSMEs
04/10/2012