Audentes hunts for deals after adding $42.5M venture round

Seventeen months after rolling out a $30 million Series A round, gene therapy upstart Audentes Therapeutics says it has added a $42.5 million venture round to support its R&D work. The San Francisco-based biotech says that it plans to do some in-licensing while pursuing two lead programs. Deerfield Management led the financing with participation from Sofinnova Ventures and Venrock while the current investors--OrbiMed, 5AM Ventures, and Versant Ventures--also participated. "This financing will allow the company to rapidly advance our products for the treatment of X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy and Pompe Disease and to further expand our pipeline and internal capabilities as we pursue our mission to be a global leader in our field," noted CEO Matthew Patterson. Release