Vedanta Biosciences Raises $106.5M in Funding

Vedanta Biosciences

Vedanta Biosciences, a Cambridge, MA-based clinical-stage company that is developing a potential new category of oral therapies based on defined bacterial consortia, raised $106.5M in funding.

The investor syndicate was co-led by new investors AXA IM Alts and The AMR Action Fund, along with existing investors Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Skyviews Life Science, Reimagined Ventures, Fiscus Ventures, PEAK6, and Atlantic NeptuneNew investors K2 HealthVentures, Korea Investment Partners, Korea Investment & Securities Asia Ltd. and Korea Investment & Securities US, Inc., and existing investors including co-founder PureTech Health, Revelation Partners, QUAD Investment Management, Seventure Partners, Hambro Perks, and Pfizer Inc. also participated.

The company intends to use the funds for pivotal-stage development of its lead candidate, VE303, for the prevention of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), and a Phase 2 study of VE202 for ulcerative colitis, among other development activities.

Led by CEO Bernat Olle, Vedanta Biosciences works on the development of a potential new category of oral therapies based on defined consortia of bacteria isolated from the human microbiome and grown from pure clonal cell banks. The company’s clinical-stage pipeline includes product candidates being evaluated for the prevention of recurrent C. difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases, food allergy, and liver disease. Vedanta controls a foundational portfolio of more than 70 patents and has built a platform for development of defined bacterial consortia drugs. This platform includes libraries of bacteria derived from the human microbiome, vast datasets from human interventional studies, proprietary capabilities in consortium design, and end-to-end capabilities for CGMP-compliant manufacturing of oral drug candidates spanning cell banking, fermentation, lyophilization, and fill finish.

In conjunction with their investments, Curt LaBelle, M.D., Martin Heidecker, Ph.D., and Neil Tiwari will join Vedanta’s Board of Directors. Dr. LaBelle has been investing in and working with healthcare companies for over twenty years and is Managing Partner of Global Healthcare Strategies at AXA IM Alts. Dr. Heidecker brings over twenty years of extensive international experience in venture capital, drug development, and pharmaceutical marketing, and is the Chief Investment Officer of The AMR Action Fund. Mr. Tiwari brings over fifteen years of healthcare experience in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and health technology as an operator, investor, and board member, and is a healthcare, life sciences, and technology investor at Magnetar Capital.

In addition, two directors will conclude their tenure on Vedanta’s board, including Christopher Viehbacher, recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of Biogen Inc., and Bharatt Chowrira, Ph.D., J.D., the President, Chief Business, Legal and Operating Officer of PureTech Health. Charles Sherwood III, Associate General Counsel at PureTech, will replace Dr. Chowrira on the Vedanta Board of Directors.

FinSMEs

25/04/2023