BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Invetx, a pioneer in protein-based therapeutics for animal health, announced today that it has raised an additional $10.25 million in its Series A financing, bringing the total amount to $25.5 million. New investors include Casdin Capital and funds managed by Tekla Capital Management, LLC, joining existing lead investor Anterra Capital, as well as strategic investors AbCellera Biologics and WuXi Biologics. In addition, Invetx announced the appointments of Bill Brondyk, PhD, as chief scientific officer and Colin Giles, PhD, as chief development officer to its executive team.
“We are pleased to complete our $25.5 million Series A financing, welcoming blue-chip life science investors Casdin and funds managed by Tekla Capital Management, LLC to our investor syndicate. The company is now poised for rapid scaling of its novel platform and advancing its portfolio of innovative antibody therapeutics for veterinary use,” said Juergen Horn, PhD, chief executive officer, Invetx. “Additionally, we are thrilled to round out the Invetx management team with the additions of Dr. Brondyk and Dr. Giles. They bring a wealth of antibody and veterinary biologics development expertise to our company, as we look forward collectively to transforming the field of animal health.”
Dr. Brondyk was formerly senior vice president, platform discovery at Ohana Therapeutics, a reproductive health company, and head of U.S. biologics research at Sanofi, where he led the antibody discovery strategy. He received his PhD in oncology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Giles was most recently senior vice president, clinical and regulatory affairs at Nexvet Biopharma, a leading veterinary biologics developer for companion animals acquired by Zoetis. He also served as vice president, veterinary medicine pharmaceutical R&D at Pfizer Animal Health. Dr. Giles received his veterinary degree and PhD in veterinary medicine from the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London.
The company also named scientific advisors Madhusudan Natarajan, PhD, head of rare diseases drug discovery at Takeda, and Rebecca Sendak, PhD, head of global large molecules research platform at Sanofi.
Invetx is developing a portfolio of novel products for chronic and serious conditions in pets with the goal to extend and improve their quality of life. The platform capabilities extend across a wide range of indications and targets, including challenging targets for drug discovery such as G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which account for a significant number of approved drugs in humans and which are also relevant in veterinary medicine. Invetx is initially focused on diseases in dogs and cats but is planning to apply its platform to indications in other major veterinary species. The company expects to begin pilot studies of its first development candidate in 2020.
Solebury Capital served as financial advisor to Invetx.
About Invetx
Invetx is building the world’s premier biotechnology platform for protein-based therapeutics in animal health to transform standards of care in veterinary medicine. The company completed a $25.5 million Series A financing in 2020 with investors Anterra Capital, Casdin Capital, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management, LLC and strategic investment partners AbCellera Biologics, a biotech company specializing in antibody discovery located in Vancouver, BC and WuXi Biologics, a global company with leading biologics technology platforms. Invetx is a private company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, see www.invetx.com.