Magenta Therapeutics said today that it closed a $50 million Series B round and licensed a clinical-stage program from Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to advance its stem cell transplantation platform. The company also inked a partnership deal with Be The Match BioTherapies.
Google’s venture arm, GV, led the financing round and was joined by existing investors, including Atlas Venture and Third Rock Ventures.
The company in-licensed Novartis’ MGTA-456, an investigational product designed to expand the number of cord blood stem cells used in transplants to improve outcomes. According to the agreement, Magenta can use the drug in “selected applications”.
Early results show that MGTA-456 can increase the number of umbilical cord blood stem cells.
Magenta is also collaborating with Be The Match BioTherapies, a subsidiary of the National Marrow Donor Program, to improve transplant medicines. Under the newly-established partnership, Magenta has access to Be The Match BioTherapies’ cell therapy delivery platform, industry relationships, clinical trial design and patient outcomes data.
“Magenta has quickly established itself as a nexus of innovation in stem cell science, catalyzing interest in this area of medicine with the recognition that improvements will have profound impact on patients,” CEO, president & co-founder Jason Gardner said in prepared remarks. “We aspire to accelerate products that could unleash the potential of transplantation to more patients, including those with autoimmune diseases, genetic blood disorders and cancer. The resounding interest in Magenta from such a high-quality set of investors is a testament to our solid progress since launch, including building a world-class team and a robust pipeline, and generating promising early data.”
