Checkpoint inhibitors, drugs that unleash the immune system, have turned into blockbuster therapies that have transformed outcomes for some patients with deadly cancers. AltruBio, a Bay Area biotech, is betting it can help patients suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by taking the opposite tack: pumping the brakes on runaway immune responses.
The company on Tuesday announced that it has raised $225 million in a Series B venture round led by BVF Partners, with the biotech’s backers also including RA Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, and Soleus Capital. AltruBio plans to put that money toward advancing a drug that is already being tested in a mid-stage trial for ulcerative colitis, an increasingly competitive market in which a number of pharma companies have launched drugs.
It’s the latest example of intense investor interest in immunology-focused companies. Firms such as Paragon Therapeutics and Prometheus Laboratories have recently been at the center of financing mega-rounds, and Blackstone Life Sciences recently committed up to $300 million to launch Uniquity Bio, a company developing treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
