Erasca Secures $42 Million Series A Financing to Advance Novel Oncology Therapies Aimed at Curing Cancer

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that U.S. biotechnology company Erasca announced the completion of a $42 million Series A financing round. The round was co-led by founding investors City Hill Ventures and Cormorant Asset Management, with participation from other institutional and individual investors.

Erasca is a startup biotechnology company dedicated to the research, development, and promotion of novel oncology drugs. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in California, USA, Erasca was co-founded by Jonathan E. Lim, who serves as Executive Chairman. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Lim has founded and led multiple biotechnology companies since 2003.

Jonathan’s most recent role was as Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder of Ignyta, which was acquired by Roche for $1.7 billion in February 2018. He has also co-founded, funded, and led several other successful companies, including Bonti (acquired by Allergan), Eclipse Therapeutics (acquired by Bionomics), and Halozyme Therapeutics.

These companies primarily provide new therapies to patients worldwide, having raised a total of $1 billion in capital and generated over $4 billion in shareholder value.

In 2018, Jonathan founded Erasca. Joining him on the founding leadership team were Gary Yeung, a seasoned business and finance executive who serves as Chief Business Officer, and Dr. Robert Shoemaker, a computational biologist and Vice President of Biology.

It is understood that Erasca will use the funds from this round of financing to support the research and development of oncology drugs capable of actually curing cancer.

“Cancer is a pervasive disease that has, to some extent, affected nearly everyone I know,” said Dr. Jonathan. “Patients continue to suffer greatly from cancer, creating an urgent need for therapies that surpass the efficacy of existing treatments. Erasca was founded to address this critical unmet need, with the hope of one day achieving a complete cure for cancer. We recognize that this goal will not be realized overnight, as cancer remains a formidable adversary. Nevertheless, we are committed to pursuing every worthwhile avenue.”

Erasca is currently conducting multiple R&D programs targeting undisclosed cancer biology drivers. The company stated that it will disclose more project-related information as these programs advance into human clinical studies. Erasca is also seeking additional opportunities to expand its drug development pipeline through academic and biopharmaceutical collaborations.

“Exciting new discoveries have been made targeting key molecular drivers of cancer, and a high-caliber executive team with a proven track record has been assembled. Erasca is well-positioned to leverage its existing strengths to overcome significant challenges and deliver more breakthrough therapies to patients,” said Chen Bihua, Portfolio Manager at Cormorant Asset Management. “However, fulfilling such an ambitious mission requires both a deep passion for patients and strong business acumen. Jonathan has previously led multiple companies to success, and under his leadership, the newly formed outstanding team is poised to help Erasca effectively fulfill its mission.”

City Hill Ventures is a healthcare-focused investment firm founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Diego, California, USA.

City Hill Ventures primarily provides seed and early-stage investments to private companies in the life sciences (therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices) and healthcare technology sectors.

Cormorant Asset Management is an employee-owned hedge fund headquartered in Boston, United States. Chen Bihua serves as the fund’s CEO and Portfolio Manager. The fund primarily serves institutional investors.