Oversubscribed round co-led by Cormorant Asset Management and Fairmount Funds, supported by a strong syndicate of new and existing investors
PHILADELPHIA, May 18, 2021 – Interius BioTherapeutics, a preclinical stage gene therapy company developing a paradigm-shifting platform for in vivo cell-specific gene delivery, today announced that it has raised $76 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing. The round was co-led by Cormorant Asset Management and Fairmount Funds, and joined by Bain Capital Life Sciences, Pfizer Ventures, RA Capital Management, Longwood Fund, Logos Capital, Osage University Partners and Quan Capital. All existing investors participated, including lead founding investor Tellus BioVentures, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine, Agent Capital, the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, Knollwood, and BrightEdge, the American Cancer Society’s impact investment fund. Tomas Kiselak of Fairmount Funds and Ben Lund of Bain Capital Life Sciences will join the Interius Board of Directors.
“We were gratified by the exceptional interest during our raise and are delighted by the composition of the syndicate – a testament to the potential of the technology and the solid scientific foundation from Dr. Gill’s lab and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at Penn,” said Phil Johnson, MD, CEO of Interius. “I look forward to working with this amazing team as we advance our gene delivery platform that will enable highly specific, durable re-engineering of cells right where they live in the human body.”
Co-founded by Dr. Saar Gill, physician-scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Bruce Peacock, a renowned biotech veteran, Interius is initially focused on treating hematologic malignancies by leveraging its novel gene delivery platform to generate chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells directly in vivo. This unique therapeutic approach bypasses the need for ex vivo cell manipulations and the potentially toxic pre-conditioning chemotherapy required for standard CAR T-cell treatments. Exploiting its versatile platform, Interius is also developing applications beyond immuno-oncology that address diseases not amenable to current gene therapy modalities.
“We are very pleased to have assembled a fantastic team at Interius who are translating breakthrough science with the support of a world-class group of investors,” said Lonnie Moulder, Board Chair and Managing Member of Tellus BioVentures. “The technology that Interius is advancing may dramatically change the way we think about in vivo gene delivery and lead to transformational therapies for patients.”
About Interius BioTherapeutics
Interius BioTherapeutics is a preclinical stage gene therapy company developing novel methods for in vivo cell-specific gene delivery, creating a breakthrough platform with multi-product potential. The company was founded based on inventions from the laboratory of Dr. Saar Gill, a leading physician-scientist in the fields of cell and gene therapy at the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the University of Pennsylvania. Interius BioTherapeutics is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, visit www.interiusbio.com