Morphic Therapeutic, a Waltham, MA-based biotechnology company developing a new generation of oral integrin* drugs, completed a $51.5m Series A financing.
The round was co-led by SR One and Pfizer Venture Investments, with participation from Omega Funds and AbbVie Ventures, which joined founding investors Polaris Partners, T.A. Springer and Schrödinger, Inc., along with ShangPharma Investment Group.
The company intends to use the funds to advance multiple programs into the clinic.
Founded in 2015 to translate advances from the laboratory of Timothy A. Springer, Ph.D., the Latham Family Professor at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, Morphic Therapeutic develops a new generation of oral integrin therapies for immunological, fibrotic, neoplastic and vascular diseases.
The company is led by:
– Chief Executive Officer Praveen Tipirneni, M.D., former Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Global Strategy at Cubist Pharmaceuticals;
– Chief Scientific Officer Bruce Rogers, Ph.D., former head of Neuro-Opportunities and Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Pfizer and Pharmacia;
– Chief Development Officer Alex Lugovskoy, Ph.D., former Vice President of Therapeutics at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and Associate Director of Drug Discovery at Biogen;
– Vice President of Chemistry Blaise Lippa, Ph.D., former Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Cubist; and
– Vice President of Finance and Operations Robert Farrell, CPA, former Vice President Finance and Administration at Genocea Biosciences.
FinSMEs
30/06/2016
*Integrins are a ubiquitous family of receptors expressed on the surface of most human cells. Integrin signaling controls a wide range of cellular processes, including cell survival, cell cycle progression, cell differentiation and cell migration. Aberrant signaling contributes to a diverse array of human diseases, including fibrosis, autoimmune diseases and immuno-oncology.