Complexa, a US-based biopharmaceutical spinout from University of Pittsburgh, closed a $62m series C round on Wednesday co-led by Pfizer Venture Investments, the investment arm of pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and VC firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, HBM Healthcare Investments and Jafco also contributed to the round, as did unnamed existing backers.
Founded in 2012, Complexa is working on a therapy called CXA-10 for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, an orphan disease affecting the kidney, and for pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare pulmonary disease.
Complexa is a spinout from University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, based on research by Bruce Freeman, professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, and Margaret Tarpey, professor of anaesthesiology and pharmacology.
The funding will be used to advance CXA-10 into two phase 2 clinical trials, each aimed at one of the aforementioned conditions. The trials are expected to begin in early 2018.
The money will also support the progression of a third treatment, targeting an undisclosed condition, towards an investigational new drug filing with US regulator Food and Drug Administration.
Barbara Dalton, vice-president of venture capital at Pfizer Venture Investments, will join Complexa’s board of directors, as will David Mott, general partner at NEA, Sara Nayeem, partner on NEA’s healthcare team, and Gilles Nobécourt, partner at Rothschild.
Jafco previously led a $13m series B round in 2014, with participation from unnamed, existing shareholders. In 2012, Scientific Health Development, Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, Innovation Works and angel investors supplied $3.6m in series A capital.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.
