KaloBios Pharmaceuticals has pulled together a $20 million round to support its work developing therapeutic antibodies. Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Genzyme came on as new investors in the first close of its fourth round. MPM Capital, Alloy Ventures, GBS Ventures, Sofinnova Ventures, Singapore Bioinnovations, 5AM Ventures and Lotus Bioscience Ventures all re-upped for the latest round.
That's actually less than what the company had expected to announce just days ago. One of KaloBios' regular investors, Lehman Brothers, vaporized in the credit crisis that is now afflicting Wall Street, costing the developer several million dollars in lost venture funds.
"We had to scramble and regroup," David Pritchard, KaloBios' president and CEO, tells FierceBiotech. Now the company will look to raise an additional $5 million to $10 million in venture funds for a second close of the round.
Pritchard says these new funds will enable the biotech to complete its seven Phase I and Phase IIa clinical trials and to prepare to advance KB001 and KB003 to Phase IIb clinical trials. The money "will also allow us to progress a third antibody, KB004, to the Investigational New Drug stage and to further develop our research pipeline. We plan to talk to potential partners about our clinical and IND programs next year, and this financing combined with the company's current cash, will provide the management team with the resources to evaluate those partnering opportunities from a position of strength."
- read the KaloBios release