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Proceeds from the investment round will be used by the company to advance further the clinical development of the VelosBio lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), VLS-101, and support the continued expansion of its pipeline of ROR1-directed next-generation ADCs and bispecific antibodies
FREMONT, CA: Clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel, first-in-class cancer therapies targeting receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1), VelosBio, raised USD 137 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round led by Matrix Capital Management. Since its inception in 2017, the company has raised USD 202 million in gross proceeds from private fundings.
"We are delighted to welcome a top-tier group of leading healthcare investors to advance development of our pipeline of first-in-class ROR1-directed therapeutics. We have made tremendous progress since founding the Company in 2017, and this financing reflects strong support for our platform, people, and comprehensive development strategy," said Dave Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, VelosBio. "This investment positions us to further the development of our unique pipeline of targeted therapies, and continue the expansion of our world-class team of scientists and researchers who share a passion for developing paradigm-shifting cancer therapeutics to improve patients' lives."
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The financing round was also participated by new investors Adage Capital Management LP, Cormorant Asset Management, Farallon, Foresite Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capital, OrbiMed. Funds and accounts for the investment round were advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Viking Global Investors, and Wellington Management Company, who joined existing investors Arix Bioscience, Decheng Capital, Pappas Capital, Sofinnova Ventures, and Takeda Ventures.
"We were attracted to VelosBio by the excellent science, experienced management team, and broad potential therapeutic applicability of its proprietary ROR1-targeting technology," said Karan Takhar, Managing Director, Matrix Capital Management. "The early clinical data with VLS-101 are very promising and support ROR1's potential as a novel oncology target. We see tremendous opportunity for the VelosBio pipeline to produce novel targeted therapies for use as monotherapy or in combination across a broad range of cancers."
Proceeds from the investment round will be used by the company to advance further the clinical development of the VelosBio lead antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), VLS-101, and support the continued expansion of its pipeline of ROR1-directed next-generation ADCs and bispecific antibodies. ROR1 is a cell surface antigen present on a range of hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. VLS-101 is a ROR1-directed ADC that is currently being studied in a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic cancers. Studies in patients with solid tumors are scheduled to begin later this year.
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