Aduro Biotech, Inc., a Berkeley, California-based clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, closed a $51.4m Series D financing.
Backers included new investors OrbiMed, Janus Capital Management LLC, funds managed by Franklin Advisers, Inc., Jennison Associates LLC (on behalf of certain clients), Foresite Capital Management LLC, certain private investment funds advised by Clough Capital Partners L.P., other healthcare investors, the Morningside group and certain of existing investors.
The company, which has raised $106.4m in 2014, plans to use the funding for the continued advancement of its pipeline of immuno-oncology product candidates, including its lead immuno-oncology regimen of CRS-207 and GVAX Pancreas that is currently being evaluated in ECLIPSE, a 240 patient Phase 2b clinical trial to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Led by Stephen Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Aduro focuses on the development of its live, attenuated, double-deleted (LADD) Listeria monocytogenes and cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) technology platforms to initiate innate immune responses and drive targeted, durable adaptive immune responses against cancer. CRS-207 is its lead LADD product candidate, engineered to express the tumor-associated antigen mesothelin, which is over-expressed in many cancers including mesothelioma and pancreatic, lung, ovarian and gastric cancers.
The company is also developing clinical candidates using synthetic small molecule CDNs that are designed to activate the intracellular STING receptor.
FinSMEs
05/01/2015