Visterra, Inc., a Cambridge, MA-based developer of novel therapeutics to prevent and treat major infectious diseases, raised $8.1m in funding to close its Series A financing round.
Backers in the financing, which brought total proceeds in Series A to $34.2m include existing investors Polaris Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, Lux Capital, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Omega Funds as well as members of management and employees.
The company intends to use the funds to advance its proprietary pipeline of novel antibodies that target infectious diseases, including initiating phase 1 clinical trials for its VIS410.
Led by Brian J. G. Pereira, M.D., President and CEO, Visterra discovers and develops novel antibodies for the prevention and treatment of major infectious diseases. Its lead antibody product candidate, VIS410, is a broad spectrum monoclonal antibody for the prevention and treatment of both seasonal and pandemic influenza.
Visterra was founded based on scientific work developed in the laboratory of Dr. Ram Sasisekharan and licensed from MIT.
The company also announced that it has appointed:
– David Arkowitz has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and
– Greg Miller as Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning.
FinSMEs
02/12/2013