Interius BioTherapeutics announced today that it raised $76 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing round.
Philadelphia-based Interius develops treatments for hematologic malignancies. The company’s novel gene delivery platform generates chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells directly in vivo to bypass the need for ex vivo cell manipulations and the potentially toxic pre-conditioning chemotherapy required for standard CAR T cell treatments, according to a news release.
The company did not list an intended use of proceeds as a result of the offering but may use the funds to advance its existing platform and develop applications beyond immuno-oncology to address diseases that aren’t currently treatable through current gene therapy options.
Cormorant Asset Management and Fairmount Funds co-led the round, with new investors including Bain Capital Life Sciences, Pfizer Ventures, RA Capital Management, Longwood Fund, Logos Capital, Osage University Partners and Quan Capital. Tomas Kiselak of Fairmount Funds and Ben Lund of Bain Capital Life Sciences will join Interius’ board of directors.
All existing investors, including lead founding investor Tellus BioVentures, participated. Other existing investors include the University of Pennsylvania nad Penn Medicine, Agent Capital, the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, Knollwood and BrightEdge, the American Cancer Society’s impact investment fund.
“We were gratified by the exceptional interest during our raise and are delighted by the composition of the syndicate – a testament to the potential of the technology and the solid scientific foundation from Dr. Gill’s lab and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at Penn,” Interius CEO Dr. Phil Johnson said in the release. “I look forward to working with this amazing team as we advance our gene delivery platform that will enable highly specific, durable re-engineering of cells right where they live in the human body.”
