Relay Therapeutics Secures Record $400M Series C Funding Led by SoftBank Vision Fund Just Two Years After Founding

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on December 20 (U.S. local time), U.S. biopharmaceutical startup Relay Therapeutics announced the completion of a $400 million Series C financing round.

This funding round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund, with participation from new investors Foresite Capital, Perceptive Advisors, and Tavistock Group. Existing investors GV, Casdin Capital, BVF Partners, EcoR1 Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and an affiliate of D.E. Shaw Research also took part.

The proceeds from this financing round are expected to be used to accelerate Relay Therapeutics’ long-term strategic development, support the expansion of its R&D efforts, advance existing programs into clinical stages, and help the company build a broader platform and a more diverse team.

Relay Therapeutics is a privately held startup biopharmaceutical company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The company focuses on protein motion in drug discovery, aiming to create medicines with transformative impact for patients by building a unique development platform.

Image source: Relay Therapeutics official website

At the core of this platform is the question, “How to understand the relationship between protein conformation and function.” Previous imaging methods for proteins were limited to static images, but Relay Therapeutics has overcome this challenge by integrating computational power with cutting-edge experimental approaches, spanning the fields of structural biology, biophysics, chemistry, and biology.

This integration has, for the first time, elucidated the full conformational dynamics of proteins and provided key insights into “how the dynamic nature of protein conformations regulates function.” By leveraging these insights, Relay Therapeutics is developing novel therapies for patients by modulating protein conformations.

It is reported that the Series C financing round represents the largest funding amount in Relay Therapeutics’ history. Prior to this Series C round, the company had raised a total of $120 million through its Series A and Series B financings. Specifically, in September 2016, Relay Therapeutics secured $57 million in Series A funding from investors including Third Rock Ventures; in December 2017, it obtained $63 million in Series B funding from investors such as Biotechnology Value Fund.

“We are at a unique moment in the evolution of drug discovery, one in which we can integrate cutting-edge experimentation with powerful computational discovery tools to tackle previously undruggable protein targets. The success of our early programs validates the potential of our platform to create breakthrough therapies for a wide range of diseases,” said Dr. Sanjiv Patel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Relay Therapeutics.

“This significant round of financing enables Relay Therapeutics to substantially expand and advance its R&D platform and pipeline. We are thrilled by the strong support from investors for our corporate mission, vision, and development strategy,” said Alexis Borisy, Executive at Relay Therapeutics and Co-founder of Third Rock Ventures.

SoftBank Vision Fund is a subsidiary of SoftBank, established in May 2017 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

The SoftBank Vision Fund has provided over $100 million in funding to growth-stage companies. The fund’s investment sectors include the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, communications infrastructure, telecommunications, computational biology, biotechnology, cloud technology and software, consumer internet businesses, fintech, and mobile applications. The fund aims to serve as a catalyst for technological advancement, with expectations that it will expand SoftBank’s capabilities and accelerate its transition toward SoftBank 2.0.

Foresite Capital is a multi-stage healthcare and life sciences investment firm founded in 2011, headquartered in San Francisco with an office in New York, and currently manages $2 billion.

Foresite Capital employs a rigorous, science- and data-driven approach to investment analysis, engaging in collaborative co-investments with its portfolio companies. It aims to provide funding to promising healthcare and life sciences enterprises at various stages of development, thereby addressing long-unmet clinical needs. The firm’s investments are primarily focused on companies that leverage data science and machine intelligence tools within the healthcare sector.

Perceptive Advisors is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor headquartered in New York, United States.

The company invests in global public equity markets, primarily employing a long/short equity strategy as a hedging technique while simultaneously making investments. It typically focuses on the biotechnology and life sciences sectors.

Tavistock Group is an international private investment firm headquartered in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, with offices and significant business operations in North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Caribbean.

The institution comprises a family office, trading operations, and both public and private investment entities. Its investment portfolio spans real estate, hospitality, dining, sports, energy, retail, biotechnology/life sciences, agriculture, and finance.

GV (Google Ventures) was founded in March 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco. In 2009, GV was launched as Google Ventures, the venture capital arm of Alphabet.

To date, GV has invested in more than 300 companies, primarily focusing on life sciences, healthcare, artificial intelligence, robotics, transportation, cybersecurity, and agriculture. The investment firm’s vision is to help these companies connect with Google and provide them with technological and talent support.

Casdin Capital is an investment firm focused on the life sciences and healthcare industries, founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York, USA.

The company primarily invests in the early-stage and late-stage development phases of enterprises. To date, Casdin Capital has made 37 investments, with a primary focus on the biotechnology sector.

BVF Partners (Biotechnology Value Fund) is a San Francisco-based private investment partnership focused on fundamentally advancing public biotechnology investments.

Since its inception in 1993, BVF has been dedicated to building concentrated, long-term investments in small biotechnology companies, while exercising rigorous oversight and continuous monitoring of its portfolio. BVF is committed to collaborating with its portfolio companies to achieve mutual success.

EcoR1 Capital is an investment consulting firm focused on biotechnology, founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco.

EcoR1 Capital is responsible for evaluating and selecting exceptional biotechnology companies that pursue the highest quality science and demonstrate a strong business foundation.

Just as the EcoRI restriction enzyme helped transform the field of biomedicine, EcoR1 aims to lead promising biotechnology companies in advancing medical research through investment. These companies are developing promising novel solutions for previously untreatable diseases.

Third Rock Ventures, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Massachusetts, primarily invests in life sciences companies.

The investment firm aims to address unmet medical needs through bold ideas, transformative science, and fearless approaches.