In the second-largest venture capital deal of the past year, Cambridge, MA-based Microbia announced that it raised $75 million in new funds in its fifth round. Sigma Capital Partners, Jennison Associates, and Maverick Capital joined Microbia's original investors in the round. Co-founder and CEO Peter Hecht emerged from MIT to launch the company, expanding on his research into the therapeutic qualities of yeast. An anti-constipation pill is now in a mid-stage trial and a cholesterol-blocking pill is in an early-stage study. Microbia tried originally to develop anti-fungals to combat infections, but switched to broader ailments after that approached failed to deliver the expected results. Investors are looking for a public offering in the next stage of the biotech's development.
- read this report from the Boston Globe for more information