Forbion and Gilde Healthcare have co-led a $53m series B round for Dundee spinout Amphista, which is working on targeted protein degradation technology.
Amphista Therapeutics, a UK-based oncology therapy developer spun out of University of Dundee, closed a $53m series B round yesterday co-led by Forbion and Gilde Healthcare.
Pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly and Novartis also took part in the round, the latter investing through its Novartis Venture Fund. They were joined by BioMotiv and Advent Life Sciences.
Founded in 2017, Amphista Therapeutics is working on treatments that tap into the body’s natural processes to degrade and remove proteins that cause diseases such as cancer and central nervous system disorders.
The financing will allow Amphista to accelerate its pipeline towards the clinic and to expand its platform.
Stefan Luzi, partner at Gilde Healthcare, Rogier Rooswinkel, partner at Forbion, and Florian Müllershausen, managing director at Novartis Venture Fund, have been appointed to Amphista’s board of directors.
Nicola Thompson, chief executive of Amphista, said: “This financing round, led by an outstanding investor syndicate, is a strong endorsement of our world-class team and our novel approach. …
“This oversubscribed series B supports our ambition as a world-leading next-generation protein degradation company delivering ground-breaking new medicines to patients in areas of high unmet need.”
Advent Life Sciences previously led a $7.5m series A round in April 2020, with participation from Scottish Investment Bank, European Investment Fund and BioMotiv.
Amphista was founded by Advent Life Sciences and secured an undisclosed amount of seed financing from Scottish Investment Bank at an unspecified date.