January 6, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Investment is continuing to pour into the Bay Area biotech community in 2015, with Global Blood Therapeutics, a biopharma that uses small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of severe blood disorders, saying Tuesday that it had closed a $48 million Series B financing—money it will use to conduct the first human trials for its experimental sickle cell disease therapy.
The round included investments from Wellington Management Company, RA Capital, Deerfield Management, Sabby Capital, Perceptive Life Sciences, as well as an affiliate of Cowen Group and one undisclosed blue chip public investment fund. Biotech watchers were buzzing Tuesday about the absence of one of GBT’s former investors, Third Rock Ventures, which initially helped create the company in 2012 with $40.7 million but has apparently sat out this particular round out. The company did not comment on Third Rock’s abstention.
Global Blood said that it will plough the money back into studying its lead drug candidate, GBT440, for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD), which is currently in preclinical testing and will be beginning a Phase I/II clinical trial later this year. The drug is an oral, once daily dosing, direct-acting sickle hemoglobin (HbS) modifier for the chronic, prophylactic treatment of patients with SCD. It works by blocking the polymerization of HbS and the resultant sickling of red blood cells (RBCs).
The round follows the company’s presentation of new positive data for GBT440 at the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Conference last month in San Francisco, data which showed it may have the ability to prevent sickling of RBCs.
“We believe that our ongoing GBT440 development program has the potential to demonstrate early proof of concept as soon as the second half of 2015,” stated Ted W. Love, chief executive officer of GBT, in a statement. “This potential rapid pathway to early POC was instrumental in helping us secure participation from such a high quality investor syndicate.”
It was clear Tuesday that the venture capital firms staking GBT felt strongly about both its leadership and potential pipeline, saying in a statement that they were happy to be getting in on the ground floor.
“GBT has all of the key elements required to be a leader in the development of novel drugs including an experienced management team with a strong track record of clinical and commercial success, innovative and exceptional science addressing a significant patient need, and promising data to support their therapeutic approach,” stated Deerfield’s William Slattery. “We believe GBT is uniquely positioned for success and we are excited to be an early investor in the company.”
Sickled RBCs affect free blood flow through the body’s capillaries, which then causes acute and chronic complications including unpredictable and recurrent episodes of severe pain, progressive organ damage, stroke and a shortened life expectancy. It traditionally affects the black community, and finding a cure for sickle cell has become something of a cause celebre for black celebrities and community leaders since the disease first became well understood in the mid-1970s.
