The oncology therapeutics developer has added $66m to its coffers thanks to investors including Berkeley Catalyst Fund.
Circle Pharma, a US-based oncology therapeutics spinout of University of California (UC), San Francisco and Santa Cruz, picked up $66m in series C financing on Wednesday backed by UC Berkeley’s investment vehicle, Berkeley Catalyst Fund.
Column Group and Nextech Invest co-led the round, which also attracted pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly and ShangPharma as well as Pandect Bioventures, Euclidean Capital, Pavillion Capital, Hartford HealthCare Endowment and LifeForce Capital.
Circle Pharma is working on a macrocycle drug discovery and development platform that is expected to have applications across many serious diseases. The spinout’s initial focus is on oncology, with assets aimed at small cell lung cancer and ovarian cancer.
The series C capital will enable Circle to move its programmes into the clinic.
The company previously raised $45m in series B capital led by Column Group, with participation from Berkeley Catalyst Fund, ShangPharma, Nextech Invest and LifeForce Capital, in March 2020.
The spinout’s earlier capital came from Mission Bay Capital, ShangPharma and its peer Pfizer, Elements Partners, LifeForce Capital, Whitesun Healthcare Ventures, WI Harper Group and assorted angel investors.
