Osage University Partners is among the investors in Northwestern spinout Vanqua Bio’s $85m series B round.
Vanqua Bio, a US-based developer of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases based on research at Northwestern University, emerged yesterday with $85m in series B funding backed by spinout-focused venture capital firm Osage University Partners.
Omega Funds led the round, which also included OrbiMed, Surveyor Capital, Avoro Ventures, Casdin Capital, Pontifax and Logos Capital as well as pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly.
Founded in 2019 as Surmount Bio, Vanqua Bio is working on therapies that can slow or halt the progression of neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson’s (PD), Alzheimer’s (AD), Gaucher disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The series B funding will allow Vanqua to accelerate the development of its programmes. Bernard Davitian of Omega Funds and Sara Nayeem will join the board of directors.
Jim Sullivan, co-founder and chief executive of Vanqua Bio, said: “Vanqua Bio is helping usher in a new era of hope for people living with neurodegenerative disorders. Our mission – to develop effective therapies that slow or stop the progression of PD, AD, ALS and Gaucher disease – is a very personal one, and we are excited to have the support of world-class investors
“We are a patient-founded company with a technology platform based on seminal research conducted by Dimitri Krainc, chair of the Department of Neurology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, that is allowing us to identify a new generation of therapeutics with transformative potential.”
OrbiMed was identified as a series A investor in Vanqua’s press release, with a regulatory filing indicating the spinout raised at least $6m towards an $18m target in October 2019.
