Vera wraps up $80m series C

Vera Therapeutics, a US-based immunological and inflammatory disease therapy producer spun out of Yale University, has secured $80m of series C funding from investors including Alphabet’s early-stage corporate venturing unit GV.
The round was led by venture capital firm Abingworth and also attracted financial services group Fidelity Management & Research Company in addition to Alexandria Venture Investments, the strategic investment arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Sofinnova Investments, Longitude Capital, asset management firm Citadel’s subsidiary Surveyor Capital, Octagon Capital and Kleiner Perkins also backed the transaction.
Vera Therapeutics is advancing a drug candidate called atacicept for immunological and inflammatory diseases that works by reducing autoantibodies – antibodies that can in some cases harm parts of our own body – as well as certain immune complexes.
The drug was licensed from Merck Group and is expected to begin phase 2b clinical testing in mid-2021, initially targeting IgA nephropathy, an inflammatory kidney disease that can injure the organ’s tissues.
Besides funding the phase 2b study, Vera also plans to invest in scaling up its manufacturing capabilities in order to prepare for commercial production, and in commencing new programmes focused around its targeted indications.
Vera was launched as Trucode Gene Repair in September 2019, having raised $34m from GV and Kleiner Perkins.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.