Windward Bio, a Switzerland-based clinical-stage drug development company, raised $200M in Series A funding.
The round was led by OrbiMed, Novo Holdings and Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, and joined by SR One, Omega Funds, RTW Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, Quan Capital, and Pivotal bioVenture Partners.
The company intends to use the funds to further enhance its Phase 2 trial investigating WIN378 in severe asthma, with initial clinical readouts expected in 2026.
Led by Luca Santarelli, MD, founder, CEO, and Chairman, Windward Bio is a clinical-stage drug development company committed to improving outcomes for patients living with advanced immunological diseases with an initial focus on severe respiratory conditions.
Windward Bio’s lead candidate, WIN378, which has been in-licensed from Kelun-Biotech and Harbour BioMed, is a potential best-in-class, long-acting monoclonal antibody targeting the ligand of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) that has the potential to be dosed every six months.
The company is preparing to begin a Phase 2 trial investigating WIN378 in severe asthma, with initial clinical readouts expected in 2026. Additional clinical trials are planned in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), aiming to address unmet needs in approximately 5 million advanced, uncontrolled patients in the US, Europe, and Japan.
In addition to WIN378, Windward Bio is building a discovery pipeline of long-acting bispecifics, harnessing validated targets and synergistic biology to achieve best-in-disease efficacy for immunology indications.
The company’s Board of directors include:
- Luca Santarelli, MD (CEO);
- David Bonita, MD (OrbiMed);
- Naveed Siddiqi, MD (Novo Holdings);
- Tim Anderson (Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities);
- Iqbal Mufti (SR One);
- Otello Stampacchia, PhD (Omega Funds).
Campbell Stewart, MD (Principal, Venture Investments, Novo Holdings), joined as Observer to the Board.
FinSMEs
13/01/2025