Lycera, which is developing novel small-molecule pharmaceuticals to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, has closed a USD36m Series A f
Lycera, which is developing novel small-molecule pharmaceuticals to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, has closed a USD36m Series A financing.
The company has received USD10m as a first tranche of the financing and will receive the remainder of the proceeds in two tranches as specific milestones are met.
InterWest Partners, Arch Venture Partners and Clarus Ventures co-led the financing. EDF Ventures, which led a seed financing in November 2006, is also participating.
In conjunction with the closing, Jeffrey Leiden, a managing director with Clarus, Kristina Burow, a partner with Arch, and Nina Kjellson, a general partner with InterWest, have joined Lycera’s board of directors. These additions have increased board membership to six. Steven Gillis, a managing director with Arch, and Mary Campbell, a managing director at EDF Ventures, will serve as board observers.
Lycera also announced that it has expanded its development initiatives for small-molecule immunomodulators through the addition of a programme targeting the Th17 pathway discovered by Dan Littman.
‘This financing round is an important validation of the Lycera technology platforms,’ says Dr Gary Glick, Lycera’s founder and chief scientific officer. ‘The company is fortunate to be working with a distinguished, talented and experienced group of investors. Their expertise in the discovery and development of drugs to combat immune diseases and their track record at building world-class companies will be invaluable to Lycera. I am also delighted to have the opportunity to work closely with Dan Littman. Dan is a renowned immunologist and a significant addition to the Lycera team.’
Dr Littman says: ‘The discovery of the Th17 pathway is an important breakthrough in the field of inflammation and immunology that has opened the door to the development of novel classes of small-molecule therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases. Bringing this programme into Lycera generates an unparalelled opportunity for finding small molecules that selectively target this pathway.’
