One day after announcing a research collab with Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Taris Biomedical revealed that it has raised $25 million in a Series B round.
Bristol-Myers also contributed to the round, which was led by Yonghua Capital.
“We have made substantial progress on our lead programs in bladder cancer and overactive bladder,” president & CEO Purnanand Sarma said in prepared remarks. “Both programs demonstrate our unique approach to designing novel therapeutics that may dramatically change the management of these serious diseases. Funds from this round will be used to rapidly advance both indications through key clinical milestones.”
Taris’ GemRIS system is designed to release drugs continuously in the bladder over the course of several weeks, even months. The device is deployed and retrieved using minimally-invasive procedures that can be done in-office.
The company’s deal with Bristol-Myers includes combining Taris’ investigational GemRIS tech with the pharma company’s PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, Opdivo, in a Phase Ib muscle-invasive bladder cancer trial.
