ValenzaBio Raises $70 million in Venture Round

Rare Daily Staff

ValenzaBio, which is developing monoclonal antibody therapeutics for autoimmune and inflammatory indications, said it completed a $70 million series A financing, which will be used to advance development of two rare disease therapies.

Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Surveyor Capital led the round with additional participation by founding investors Ikarian Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, and Opaleye Management.

Pierre Fabre Medicament will also take an equity stake in the company as part of a recently executed license and commercialization agreement. The fundraise will support the advancement and expansion of ValenzaBio’s pipeline toward clinical development.

ValenzaBio’s lead program, VB119, is being developed for the treatment of membranous nephropathy (MN), followed by VB421, which is being developed for the treatment of thyroid eye disease.

“Since our founding, we have been focused on building a pipeline of differentiated monoclonal antibodies targeting clinically-validated mechanisms of action, and for which biomarker-driven approaches can enable rapid development strategies,” said Patrick Crutcher, president and chief executive officer of ValenzaBio. “We have attracted an exceptional team of drug discoverers and developers, that when combined with our pipeline and the capital raised from this leading group of investors, positions us well to ultimately bring new and improved therapies to patients with limited or no treatment options.”

Photo: Patrick Crutcher, president and chief executive officer of ValenzaBio