Massachusetts, US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm Zenas BioPharma has closed an upsized $200-million Series C round of financing to advance mid- and late-stage immunology-focused clinical development programmes.
Zenas raised the new financing from lead investors including SR One, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Norwest Venture Partners, and Delos Capital, with significant participation from Enavate Sciences and Longitude Capital, according to an official statement.
New investors including the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds and Arrowmark Partners, along with existing shareholders Fairmount, Wellington Management, Rock Springs Capital, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, and Superstring Capital, participated in the deal.
Vivo Capital, a healthcare-focused global investment firm that has backed WuXi AppTec and Lepu Biopharma in China, re-upped in the Series C round. Life sciences-specialised Quan Venture Fund, which operates from offices in China and the US, also returned in the new round.
As part of the deal, SR One’s venture partner Jack Nunn; and Tim Xiao, a partner of Delos Capital, joined Zenas’ board of directors, according to the statement.
The proceeds will support ongoing mid- to late-stage clinical development programmes for Zenas’ lead product candidate “obexelimab,” which targets the treatment and prevention of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), a chronic fibroinflammatory disease.
The completion of Zenas’ Series C round came about 18 months after the firm announced its Enavate Sciences-led Series B round at $118 million.
Zenas, officially launched in March 2021, is a cross-border biopharmaceutical firm focusing on the development and commercialisation of inflammation and immunology (I&I) directed therapies for patients around the world.
The firm started with initial financing from US-based early-stage biotech investment firm Tellus BioVentures; and Fairmount Funds Management, which specialises in biotech and life-science investments. A syndicate of global life sciences funds including Quan Capital, WuXi Biologics Healthcare Ventures, and Wellington Management was also its earliest investor.
Zenas is led by its founder, CEO, and chairman Lonnie Moulder, Tellus’ managing member and a biotech veteran who previously led companies including cancer drug developer TESARO, biopharmaceutical and nano-medicine company Abraxis BioScience, and pharmaceutical firm Eisai Corporation.
