Monte Rosa Therapeutics has raised $96m in Series B financing to support further develop of its pipeline of small-molecule protein degraders.
The company, which was originally formed as a spinout from Cancer Research UK-funded research at the Institute of Cancer Research, specialises in targeted protein degradation.
In this process, protein-degrading molecules ‘co-opt’ large cellular proteins (ubiquitin ligases) to breakdown other target proteins, including those that cause cancer.
Earlier this year, Monte Rosa announced that it had raised an initial £32.5m of funding, taking the total now raised to $128.5m.
The latest Series B round attracted a number of new investors, including Aisling Capital, HBM Healthcare Investments, Cormorant Asset Management, GV, Amzak Health, Casdin Capital, Sixty Degree Capital and Cambridge Asset Management as well as participation from founding investor Versant Ventures and existing investor New Enterprise Associates.
The new funding will be used to accelerate the development of Monte Rosa’s pipeline, advance products into clinical testing and bolster its platform capability to design and develop precision medicines for genomically defined diseases with limited treatment options.
“We are pleased to have the support of this strong group of investors who share our vision for driving a next-generation drug discovery approach that captures the promise of expanding the field of protein degradation into a broader array of diseases,” said Markus Warmuth, chief executive officer of Monte Rosa.
“With this financing, we are now well positioned to broadly develop our integrated drug discovery platform and advance multiple new therapies toward clinical development,” he added.
