Pharmaceutical firm Novo and Frazier Healthcare Partners co-led a round that will be used to advance the company's liver disease treatment through phase 2b trials.

Pharmaceutical company Novo co-led a $40m series A round for US-based liver disease therapy developer Cirius Therapeutics yesterday with private equity and venture capital firm Frazier Healthcare Partners.

Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, private equity firm Adams Street Partners and existing investors including VC firm Hopen Life Sciences Ventures also contributed to the round.

Founded as Octeta Therapeutics, Cirius is working on an oral insulin sensitiser known as MSDC-0602K that is being developed to combat a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease called…