Aileron Therapeutics - Top VC deals of H1 2009

Amount: $40M
Round: Fourth

Investors: SR One (GlaxoSmithKline's venture arm), Excel Medical Fund, Novartis Venture Fund, Lilly Ventures, Roche Venture Fund and Apple Tree Partners

Scoop: Four Big Pharma Companies--GSK, Novartis, Lillly and Roche--came together to support Aileron's Stapled Peptides technology. Stapled Peptides are are synthetically locked, or 'stapled,' into a shape that can survive passage in the body's bloodstream without being destroyed by enzymes. Therapeutics developed using Aileron's technology should be able to hit cell targets that traditional drugs can't reach. The company says that stapled peptides could join small molecule drugs, antibodies and vaccines as a major new fourth class of drug, fundamentally changing how diseases are treated.

Aileron is using the funds to advance its program toward clinical trials in 2010 and to further advance the Stapled Peptide platform and programs in oncology, immune/inflammation, metabolic disease, and infectious disease. The developer says it's also exploring the possibility of collaborations since it has too many targets to develop. Big Pharma's overwhelming support of Aileron earned it a spot on the 2009 Fierce 15 list.

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