December 2, 2014
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Editor
San Francisco-based Audentes Therapeutics, Inc. has closed a $42.5 million Series B financing round to advance its gene therapy pipeline, the company said Tuesday.
Investors included Deerfield Management, which led the financing, and Sofinnova Ventures, Venrock and current investors, OrbiMed, 5AM Ventures and Versant Ventures.
As part of the deal, Jonathan Leff, a partner on the private transactions team at Deerfield, will become a member of the company’s board of directors.
Audentes focuses on discovering gene therapies for patients suffering from serious, rare diseases It currently has two products in development, AT001, for the treatment of X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy (XLMTM) and AT002, for the treatment of Pompe Disease.
“The Audentes team is thrilled to work with such a prestigious group of investors who share our passion for bringing gene therapy products to patients as quickly as possible,” said Matthew Patterson, president and chief executive officer of Audentes in a statement.
The company said the funding will be rolled into programs to produce key clinical development milestones for its two lead programs and to continue research and in-licensing efforts.
“This financing will allow the company to rapidly advance our products for the treatment of X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy and Pompe Disease and to further expand our pipeline and internal capabilities as we pursue our mission to be a global leader in our field,” he said.
Audentes already completed a $30 million Series A financing from existing investors in July 2013.
