Dren Bio raises $350 million for late-stage drug development

By Grace Kim

Dren Bio said it closed an oversubscribed $350 million private financing co-led by Boston-based Juvia Group and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Dren Bio said the San Carlos, Calif.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company will use the money to advance antibody therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune disease and other serious illnesses.

Who backed the $350 million round?

Dren Bio disclosed two investor groups:

• New investors: Mirae Asset Capital Life Science, General Catalyst, Cormorant Asset Management and OrbiMed.
• Existing investors: 8VC, SR One, Taiho Ventures, Mission BioCapital, HBM Healthcare Investments, BVF Partners, Aisling Capital and ArrowMark Partners.

Dren Bio said the financing also added Sujal Shah, Juvia Group’s co-founder and managing director, and Shelley Chu, a Lightspeed partner, to its board. The disclosed syndicate spans four named new investors and eight named existing investors.

How much funding does Dren Bio have?

Dren Bio reported that it has secured over $500 million in venture capital so far. The company said its R&D funding exceeds $1.2 billion on account of strategic pharmaceutical alliances with companies such as Sanofi, Pfizer and Novartis.

Those figures track two funding channels: venture capital for the privately held biotechnology company and pharmaceutical alliances supporting R&D. The announcement disclosed no valuation, investor commitment or regulatory submission date.

The round sits within a venture funding base already above $500 million.

Who leads the biotech?

Dren Bio described itself as a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company founded by CEO Nenad Tomasevic, a Serbian native with a PhD from the University of Belgrade, and CFO John Wesley.

Tomasevic conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and previously served as vice president of Research at Allakos. Wesley is an investment partner at chipmaker Nvidia’s venture arm Nventure.

The founders’ backgrounds connect research at Allakos with venture investing at Nventure.

What will the new capital advance?

Dren Bio said the new capital will support three workstreams for dibotatug (DR-01), its lead investigational therapy:

• Continued late-stage clinical development of dibotatug (DR-01).
• Regulatory submission for dibotatug (DR-01).
• A planned commercial launch of dibotatug (DR-01).

CEO Nenad Tomasevic said: “We founded Dren Bio with a simple vision: pursue novel science to develop medicines that meaningfully improve the lives of patients with devastating diseases and few treatment options.” He added: “Today’s financing…positions us to accelerate the development of novel therapies for a range of diseases.”

Dren Bio earmarked the money for the late-stage path to a regulatory submission and planned launch.

How does dibotatug work?

Dren Bio describes dibotatug, also known as DR-01, as a CD94-targeting monoclonal antibody. The company says the drug selectively depletes pathogenic cytotoxic cells while preserving the broader immune system.

Dren Bio said the candidate has been used in trials involving patients with two rare hematologic malignancies:

• Cytotoxic T-cell lymphoma, which Dren Bio describes as a rare, aggressive blood cancer.
• Large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL), which Dren Bio describes as a rare, chronic hematologic malignancy that can cause severe neutropenia, anemia and transfusion dependence.

Juvia Group co-founder and managing director Sujal Shah said: “It is rare to find novel science of this quality, a drug candidate with clinical data as compelling as dibotatug.” He added: “We believe dibotatug has the potential to dramatically change the treatment paradigm in multiple hematologic and autoimmune diseases.”

With trials already reported in two rare hematologic malignancies, Dren Bio’s next stated milestones are further late-stage development, a regulatory submission and preparation for a planned commercial launch.