VectivBio secures $110 million to finance Phase III clinical trials

VectivBio closed a $110 million crossover financing from new investors Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Cormorant Capital and Eventide Asset Management, with participation from existing investors Versant Ventures, OrbiMed, Novo Holdings, BPI France, Tekla Healthcare Investors, Inserm Transfer Initiative and Cowen Healthcare Investments.

"We are excited by the addition of these accomplished crossover investors to our syndicate of top-tier investors," said Luca Santarelli, M.D., chief executive officer of VectivBio. "We look forward to continuing to advance apraglutide and to preparing our organization to bring a potential best-in-class therapy to people living with SBS." VectivBio was launched by former top managers of Therachon, a biotech company which was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in 2019 for up to $810 million.

"We have worked with Luca from the beginning and are excited about the progress we're making into VectivBio's next chapter," said Tom Woiwode, Ph.D., managing director at Versant Ventures and chairman of the board of directors at VectivBio. "We are very pleased to have such a strong syndicate supporting us through the company's next phase of growth."

VectivBio's lead investigational program, apraglutide, is a next-generation GLP-2 analog for the treatment of short bowel syndrome (SBS). To survive, patients with severe forms of SBS require parenteral support (PS), the intravenous delivery of essential nutrients, calories and fluids. For some patients, PS must be delivered for 10 to 15 hours per day, a significant burden that severely diminishes quality of life. An estimated 35,000 people are thought to suffer from SBS in the U.S. and Europe, of whom 15,000 require lifelong PS and may thus be candidates for treatment with GLP-2 analogs.

(Press release / SK)