Jnana Therapeutics Closes $107M Series C Funding, Announces New Partnership with Big Pharma Roche
Jnana Therapeutics closed its $107 million series C round, adding Bain Capital Life Sciences to an investor team that already includes Pfizer and RA Capital Management.
The funding comes more than a year after the Boston-based biotech company raised $50 million for a series B.
The proceeds will be used to progress the company’s program in phenylketonuria, a rare genetic metabolic disease, through a clinical proof-of-concept study, and to advance additional wholly owned, potential first-in-class medicines in immune-mediated diseases and cancer.
Jnana also announced a collaboration with Swiss healthcare behemoth Roche. Jnana will receive an upfront payment of $50 million, significant near-term milestone payments, and additional potential future payments that could exceed $2 billion, as well as tiered royalties.
In exchange, Jnana is contributing discovery and preclinical work on “multiple” targets spanning cancer, immune-mediated diseases and neurology.
“Roche has been a valuable strategic partner and we are proud that our success to date has led to the opportunity to broaden our work together in immune-mediated and neurological diseases, as well as to extend our collaboration into cancer,” said Joanne Kotz, co-founder and CEO of Jnana Therapeutics.