Dermira pockets $51M to bankroll skin treatments

Well-funded biotech Dermira has landed a $51 million C round to support its late-stage dermatology pipeline, rallying some high-profile investors as it dials up R&D spending and builds out its management team.

The Redwood City, CA, company's latest raise comes just a year after it closed a $35 million Series B, bringing back previous backers Bay City Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Canaan Partners and UCB, while recruiting new investors Apple Tree Partners, Aisling Capital and others.

With its new cash, Dermira plans to push its stable of skin drugs toward the market, touting a pipeline led by the UCB-partnered Cimzia. The TNF blocker is already on the market as an anti-inflammatory, and the partners are working together to get it approved for psoriasis. Behind that is DRM04, a treatment for hyperhidrosis--or excessive sweating--that is currently in the midst of two Phase IIb trials with data expected next year; and DRM01, a Phase IIa acne treatment due for clinical results this quarter.

Rounding out the biotech's pipeline are DRM02, a topical treatment for inflammatory skin disease that has completed Phase II proof-of-concept work; and DRM05, a preclinical drug that uses a novel mechanism to treat acne.

In tandem with its fundraise, Dermira is fleshing out its executive ranks, appointing a chief operating officer, a head of regulatory affairs and a vice president of legal matters as it wends toward commercialization.

The company's C round brings its four-year haul to $128 million.

- read the statement