Kronos Bio Secures $105 Million Series A Financing to Advance Small Molecule Microarray Platform

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on July 18, 2019, drug development company Kronos Bio announced the completion of a $105 million Series A financing round. The proceeds from this round will be used to advance the establishment of the company’s small-molecule microarray (SMM) platform and to hire additional staff for its offices in Boston and San Francisco.

This round of financing was led by Vida Ventures and Omega Funds, with participation from NexTech Invest, GV, Perceptive Advisors, Invus, and Polaris Partners. Dr. Norbert Bischofberger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kronos Bio, along with board members Arie Belldegrun, MD, FACS, and John Martin, also participated in this financing round. Following this round, Dr. Jakob Loven, a partner at NexTech Invest, will join the Board of Directors of Kronos Bio.

It is reported that Kronos Bio completed an $18 million seed financing round on May 23, 2018, with participation from Vida Ventures, Bellco Capital, and Omega Funds.

Kronos Bio, founded in 2017 and headquartered in New York State, USA, is dedicated to translating scientific achievements into a high-throughput screening strategy for chemical modulators of transcription factors and other elusive targets in oncology. The company leverages its Small Molecule Microarray (SMM) platform and biological assay technologies to develop novel therapeutics addressing challenging problems in cancer research.

Kronos Bio is developing novel therapies targeting some of the most challenging cancer targets to date. The company’s core technology is built on more than a decade of research by its scientific founder, Dr. Angela Koehler. Its small-molecule microarray platform features a library of drug-like small molecules that have been arrayed and immobilized on solid surfaces.

Because screening for target proteins can be performed in whole-cell lysates, SMM technology is suitable for identifying transcription factors and other proteins. In a physiologically relevant context, a single high-throughput SMM screen can probe the entire interactome of a target, directly identify compounds that bind to or interfere with the target protein, disrupt protein complexes, and directly modulate neighboring proteins that affect target activity.

“This round of financing will help us advance two preclinical programs based on our small-molecule microarray (SMM) platform, accelerate our research, and further expand our teams in the Boston and San Francisco areas,” said Dr. Norbert Bischofberger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kronos Bio, in a statement. “We aim to tackle some seemingly impossible challenges. Our goal is to develop new therapies and provide treatments for patients in need.”

Vida Ventures is a life sciences investment fund established in 2017 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Co-founded by a group of scientists, physicians, and entrepreneurs, the firm primarily invests in companies focused on medical therapeutics. To date, it has completed 13 investments.

Omega Funds is a global life sciences-focused investment firm founded in 2004 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Omega Funds primarily provides capital to companies that leverage novel therapies, devices, or platform technologies to address serious, unmet medical needs. Since its inception, the firm has raised over $700 million in capital.

Google Ventures (GV) is the investment arm of Google, established in March 2008 and headquartered in California, United States. Leveraging its strengths, Google aims to support innovative and promising new technology companies by making early-stage investments across multiple sectors, including consumer internet, software, clean technology, biotechnology, healthcare, and other emerging fields.

Perceptive Advisors, established in 1999 and headquartered in New York, USA, is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm invests in global public equity markets, primarily employing long/short equity strategies as hedging techniques while making investments. It typically focuses on the biotechnology and life sciences sectors.

Invus, founded in 1985, is a venture capital firm headquartered in New York, USA, with offices in New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong, China. Since its inception, the firm’s capital has been provided by European family groups through the Artal investment vehicle. Invus manages over $8 billion in assets within its evergreen funds.

Polaris Partners, founded in 1996 and headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, boasts over two decades of history and experience collaborating with entrepreneurs and world-class innovators. This multi-billion-dollar venture capital firm primarily invests across stages ranging from inception to profitable growth.

...outstanding healthcare and technology companies at various stages, and also invests in the digital media and enterprise software industries.

NexTech Invest, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in the information technology, biotechnology, and healthcare sectors. The company seeks investment opportunities in companies across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and North America, while also investing in European countries, including Switzerland, Germany, and neighboring regions.

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)