Dren Bio Inc., a privately held developer of antibody drugs, raised $350 million in an oversubscribed financing to carry its lead blood cancer treatment through late-stage trials, a regulatory filing and a commercial launch.
The round was co-led by Juvia Group and Lightspeed Venture Partners. It brought in a set of new healthcare investors, including Mirae Asset Capital Life Science, General Catalyst, Cormorant Asset Management and OrbiMed, while existing backers 8VC, SR One, Taiho Ventures, Mission BioCapital, HBM Healthcare Investments, BVF Partners, Aisling Capital and ArrowMark Partners also took part. The company didn’t disclose a valuation.
Rare cancers with no approved drugs
The San Carlos, Calif., company’s most advanced drug, dibotatug, is a monoclonal antibody aimed at a protein called CD94. It is designed to wipe out the cytotoxic immune cells that drive certain blood cancers while leaving the rest of the immune system intact. Its leading trials are in cytotoxic T-cell lymphoma, an aggressive cancer with poor survival rates, and large granular lymphocytic leukemia, a chronic disease that can cause severe drops in blood counts and dependence on transfusions. Neither condition has an approved therapy.
Founder and Chief Executive Nenad Tomasevic said the money gives the company the resources to take dibotatug to market while testing it in additional diseases. Dren will also use the funds to advance programs built on its platform for engaging myeloid cells to clear diseased cells, with work spanning oncology and autoimmune conditions.
Large late-stage rounds
The round was one of the largest raised by a U.S. startup in the final week of October, and it broadens Dren’s investor base with several crossover and late-stage healthcare funds that typically back companies nearing approval.
