Nuvalent, Inc., a Cambridge, MA-based biotechnology company creating precisely targeted therapies for clinically proven kinase targets in cancer, raised $50M in Series A financing.
Deerfield Management made the investment.
Led by Chief Executive Officer James Porter, Ph.D., who leads an experienced team with deep expertise in structure-based drug design, oncology drug development and company building, Nuvalent is creating precisely targeted therapies for patients with cancer designed to overcome the limitations of existing therapies for clinically proven kinase targets. Leveraging deep expertise in structure-based design, the company develops innovative small molecules with exquisite target selectivity to overcome resistance, minimize adverse events, and drive more durable responses. Nuvalent is advancing a pipeline with parallel lead programs in ROS1-positive and ALK-positive NSCLC, along with multiple discovery-stage research programs.
The company also announced its launch of a portfolio of innovative small molecule kinase inhibitors with parallel lead programs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including NUV-520 – a potential best-in-class ROS1-selective inhibitor – and NUV-655 – an ALK-selective inhibitor. These novel molecules have been designed through Nuvalent’s proprietary discovery efforts to specifically solve for the dual challenges of kinase resistance and selectivity, with the goals of minimizing adverse events and driving more durable responses for patients with cancer.
The founding technology was developed at Nuvalent under the guidance of Matthew Shair, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. Professor Shair serves as Founder, Head Scientific Advisor and member of the Board of Directors for Nuvalent.
The company is supported by an experienced and seasoned Board of Directors and scientific advisors, including:
Board of Directors
- James R. Porter, Ph.D., CEO
- Matthew Shair, Ph.D., Founder
- Cameron Wheeler, Ph.D., Deerfield Management
- Robert Jackson, M.D., Independent
- Joseph Pearlberg, M.D., Ph.D., Deerfield Management
- Gary Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., Independent
Scientific Advisors
- Matthew Shair, Ph.D., Founder, Head Scientific Advisor
- D. Ross Camidge, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Advisor
- Pasi Jänne, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Advisor
- Aaron Hata, M.D., Ph.D., Translational Research Advisor
- Nancy Kohl, Ph.D., Translational Research Advisor
- Michael Meyers, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Advisor
FinSMEs
28/01/2021