Portfolio News

Neuron23™ Inc., an early stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for genetically defined neurological and immunological diseases, today announced it has closed a $100 million Series C financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, bringing the company’s total financing raised to date to $213.5 million. Neuron23’s Series A and B investors – Westlake Village BioPartners, Kleiner Perkins, Redmile Group, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Acorn Bioventures, HBM Partners, Perceptive Advisors, and Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) – also participated in the Series C financing round.

Kyverna Therapeutics, a cell therapy company engineering a new class of therapies for serious autoimmune diseases, today announced it has closed an oversubscribed $85 million Series B financing round led by Northpond Ventures. Additional investors included the company’s founding investors Westlake Village BioPartners, Vida Ventures, and Gilead Sciences, with new investors RTW Investments, LP, CAM Capital, Insight Partners, HealthCor, LYFE Capital, Intellia Therapeutics, Argentum Peak, Hudson Bay Capital, and jVen Capital.

Westlake-backed ACELYRIN, INC., a biopharma company focused on providing patients life-changing new treatment options by identifying, acquiring, and accelerating development and commercialization of promising drug candidates, today announced the closing of its hugely successful Series B round of financing.

Expansion Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative oral medicines for severe RNA-mediated diseases, today announced the close of an $80 million Series B financing. Cormorant Asset Management led the financing with participation from new investors Westlake Village BioPartners, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and Logos Capital as well as Series A investors RA Capital Management, 5AM, Kleiner Perkins, Sanofi Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the company’s small molecule RNA platform (SMIRNA™) to identify clinical candidates in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and various tauopathies.

Versant Ventures and Westlake Village BioPartners today announced the emergence from stealth mode of Capsida Biotherapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineering and cargo development platform to develop tissue-targeted gene therapies for multiple types of diseases. In addition to a $50 million Series A commitment from the two firms, Capsida also announced a multi-year strategic collaboration and option agreement with AbbVie that provides $90 million in up front and equity investment capital in addition to potential future option, development and commercial milestone payments. The collaboration is aimed at developing best-in-class, targeted gene therapies for three programs in serious neurodegenerative diseases.

Programmable cell therapy company Arsenal Biosciences, which Westlake Village BioPartners seeded and significantly contributed to its Series A financing, today