CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LifeMine Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company reinventing drug discovery by mining genetically-encoded small molecules (GEMs) from the biosphere, today announced the completion of a $175 million Series C financing. The financing was led by new investor Fidelity Management & Research Company, with participation by additional new investors Invus and 3W Partners Capital; GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) also joined the round as a strategic partner. Existing investors, including GV, Arch Venture Partners, Blue Pool Capital and MRL Ventures Fund, also participated.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance LifeMine’s proprietary, evolutionarily-derived genomic drug discovery platform, Avatar-Rx. The platform seamlessly integrates high-throughput microbiology, data science and artificial intelligence, genome engineering and automation technologies to search the fungal biosphere for novel GEMs having a predetermined target and biological function, with synthetic biology then being used to retrieve these GEMs from their evolutionary source within the space of a few months time. Downstream of GEM discovery, Avatar-Rx further integrates chemoinformatic-assisted drug optimization and state-of-the-art chemical synthesis with biotransformation to advance new product candidates rapidly through preclinical discovery and into clinical development.
“This financing will allow us to further scale our Avatar-Rx platform and advance our lead programs targeting some of the most elusive and high value genetically validated drivers of cancer,” said Gregory Verdine, Ph.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of LifeMine. “This financing, together with our recently announced multitarget R&D collaboration with GSK, and factoring in recent scientific and corporate progress, leaves us well-positioned to rapidly advance multiple high-impact precision medicines to solve some of the most intractable challenges facing modern medicine.”
About LifeMine Therapeutics
LifeMine Therapeutics is reinventing drug discovery by mining genetically-encoded small molecules (GEMs) from the biosphere. Through its proprietary, evolutionarily-derived genomic drug discovery platform, LifeMine aims to bring unparalleled speed, predictability and scalability to small molecule drug discovery. LifeMine has discovered, in genomic space, hundreds of potentially high-impact drug candidates relevant to targets across all major disease areas, and has an initial focus on advancing highly impactful precision medicines in oncology and immune modulation. The Company was founded in 2017 by renowned entrepreneur/scientists Gregory Verdine, Ph.D., and Richard Klausner, M.D., and entrepreneur/company-builder WeiQing Zhou. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and with a second site at Gloucester Harbor, Mass., LifeMine has raised more than $295 million from leading life science investors. For additional information, please visit www.lifeminetx.com.
