3-V Biosciences Raises $30 Million
3-V Biosciences, a privately held biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing novel therapeutics for human infectious diseases, today announced it has secured $30 million in Series B funding. The financing was led by new investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and includes the participation of the existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and The Column Group (TCG). The capital will be used for both exploratory research and early clinical development of the company's lead programs targeting the treatment of respiratory viral infections.
The company also announced that David M. Mott, General Partner at NEA, has been named Chairman of the Board, succeeding Richard Klausner, MD. Dr. Klausner, Managing Partner at TCG, will continue to serve as a Director. Robert Garland, MD, Partner at NEA, will also join the company's Board of Directors. Other Board members include Beth Seidenberg, MD, Partner at KPCB, Ari Helenius, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry at ETH Zürich, Gordon Ringold, PhD, Chairman & CEO of Alavita Pharmaceuticals, and John T. Curnutte, MD, PhD, CEO of 3-V Biosciences.
"This funding will enable 3-V Biosciences to continue advancing our mission to develop drugs that will transform the therapeutic paradigm for infectious diseases," said Dr. Curnutte. "In conjunction with this financing, we are very pleased to welcome two new members to our Board whose experience in drug development, infectious diseases, and corporate strategy will be a tremendous asset as we harness rigorous science and apply best practices to achieve our mission."
"3-V Biosciences is advancing an innovative scientific strategy that targets the host pathways required for infection. This approach could offer major advantages over traditional pathogen-directed therapies including the potential for broad spectrum activity and lower risk of drug resistance," said Mr. Mott. "We look forward to working with Dr. Curnutte and his team as they develop potential therapies based on this promising platform."
"We are very impressed with the work The Column Group, Kleiner Perkins, and the 3-V Biosciences team have done to advance the field of host-directed therapies for infectious diseases. We have high hopes that these efforts will lead to solutions to major unmet clinical needs," said Dr. Garland. Mr. Mott focuses on biopharmaceutical investments at NEA. He is a Director of Ardelyx, Rib-x Pharmaceuticals, Shire plc and Zosano Pharma, and serves on the advisory board of the Scripps Translational Science Institute. Prior to joining NEA, he was President and CEO of MedImmune, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca. During his tenure, the company grew from a startup into one of the top five biotechnology companies in the world.
Dr. Garland also focuses on biopharmaceutical investments at NEA and is a Director of Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals and Trevena, Inc. He trained in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco. Prior to NEA, in addition to clinical practice, Dr. Garland was with McKinsey & Company.
3-V Biosciences was founded by The Column Group and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in March 2007. In April 2007, the original laboratory was opened in Zürich, Switzerland in close proximity to the Company's founders at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and the University of Zürich. Host pathway screening began in November 2007 and continues today. 3-V Biosciences is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and maintains its discovery laboratory near Zürich.