Ventus Therapeutics, Inc., a Waltham, MA- and Montreal, QC, Canada-based biopharmaceutical company utilizing structural biology and computational tools to identify and develop small molecule therapeutics across a broad range of disease indications, closed a $140m Series C financing.
The round was co-led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and RA Capital Management with participation from Qatar Investment Authority, Andreessen Horowitz, BVF Partners L.P., Casdin Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Alexandria Venture Investments, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and founding investor Versant Ventures. Concurrent with this financing, John Cassidy, Ph.D., of SoftBank Investment Advisers will join the Ventus Board of Directors.
Led by Marcelo Bigal, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO, Ventus is a biopharmaceutical company utilizing structural biology and computational tools to identify and develop small molecule therapeutics across a broad range of disease indications, with an initial focus on immunology, inflammation and neurology. and engage with us on Twitter @Ventus_Tx or on LinkedIn.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the scaling of its ReSOLVE platform and enhance its performance by automating processes, expanding machine learning capabilities, and constructing larger proprietary virtual libraries. Ventus also plans to continue to advance its lead drug programs that target key modulators in the innate immune system, including NLRP3 (NLR pyrin domain-containing 3) and cGAS (cyclic GMP-AMP synthase), and expand its research and development staff to support additional pipeline programs, providing potential opportunities for both partnerships and internal growth.
The lead drug program, VENT-01, is a peripherally restricted small molecule inhibitor compound targeting NLRP3. NLRP3 is a key mediator of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1b and IL-18 and is a biologically validated target for many diseases where inflammation is the key driver of pathology. The company has a second drug program, which is a brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor. Ventus’ third drug program targets cGAS, a key regulator of the cGAS/stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway.
FinSMEs
09/02/2022