Autoimmune disease therapy spinout Cabaletta Bio's series B round brought its total to at least $88m allowed the university to pare back its shareholding.
Cabaletta Bio, a US-based autoimmune disease treatment developer spun out of University of Pennsylvania, raised $50m on Thursday in a series B round which allowed the university to sell some of its shares to the incoming investors.
Healthcare-focused investment firm Deerfield Management took part in the round, investing alongside Redmile Group, Cormorant Capital, Adage Capital Management, 5AM Ventures and Adage Capital Management.
An undisclosed public healthcare entity also supplied funding, as did Boxer Capital, a life sciences-focused arm of investment firm Tavistock Group.
Founded in June 2017, Cabaletta Bio is focused on treatments for autoimmune diseases that exploit the chimeric auto-antibody receptor, modifying the patient’s T-cells – a form of white blood cell – so they can selectively attack malignant B-cells.
The spinout’s lead candidate, DSG3-CAART, targets mucosal pemphigus vulgaris, an incurable and potentially life-threatening condition that causes fragile blisters to form on the skin and in the lining of the mouth, nose, throat and genitals.
The series B funding will allow Cabaletta Bio to pursue investigative new drug status for DSG3-CAART by the second half of 2019 ahead of initial clinical testing of the therapy.
Money will also go towards strengthening Cabaletta’s advanced manufacturing and translational research capabilities, with the spinout currently in the process of securing new partnerships in both areas.
Cabaletta Bio was co-founded by Michael Milone, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Penn, together with Aimee Payne, who leads the university’s autoimmune blistering clinic.
The pair were assisted by Cabaletta’s chief executive, Steven Nichtberger, an entrepreneur and adjunct professor at the Penn Department of Health Care Management with experience in healthcare.
Cabaletta Bio previously closed a $38m series A round in November 2018 led by 5AM Ventures with participation from University of Pennsylvania and Adage Capital Management. Endpoints News reported that an unspecified healthcare-focused investment fund had also backed the round.
The university is a founding seed investor in Cabaletta Bio, according to the company, though further details could not be ascertained.
