AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, IBM and WuXi PharmaTech are among the backers of a $48m series A round for life sciences startup Petra Pharma.

US-based biotechnology company Petra Pharma has raised $48m in a series A round backed by pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, AbbVie and WuxiPharmaTech.

Johnson & Johnson invested through its corporate venturing unit Johnson & Johnson Innovation, while Pfizer participated through its Pfizer Venture Investments vehicle.

Watson Fund,a subsidiary of technology company IBM, and Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate manager Alexandria Real Estate Equities, also invested, alongside Harris & Harris, Arch…