Pharmababble

Lycera Closes $36 Million Series A

Lycera announced the closing of a $36M Series A round of funding. The company is developing novel small-molecule pharmaceuticals to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, has received $10 million as a first tranche of the financing and will receive the remainder of the proceeds in two tranches as specific milestones are met. InterWest Partners, ARCH Venture Partners and Clarus Ventures co-led the financing. EDF Ventures, which led a seed financing in November 2006, is also participating.

They are focused on the discovery and development of small-molecule immunomodulators for the treatment of immunologic diseases, including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosis, inflammatory bowel disease and transplant rejection. Originally founded by Dr. Gary Glick as a spin-out of the University of Michigan, Lycera is developing drug candidates that target two novel therapeutic pathways and have the potential for first-in-class oral efficacy without the adverse effects of current standard-of-care antiproliferative and immunosuppressive agents. Visit www.lycera.com for more information.

Lycera also announced that it has expanded its development initiatives for small-molecule immunomodulators through the addition of a program targeting the Th17 pathway discovered by Dan Littman, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Littman, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel.

Clarus’s Dr. Leiden added, “Lycera combines two of the most exciting, new small-molecule approaches for treating autoimmune diseases. The company will leverage the complementary expertise and discoveries of Dr. Glick in medicinal chemistry with those of Dr. Littman in immunology and the Th17 pathway. The Series A financing will enable Lycera to advance its first drug candidate through Phase II proof-of-concept studies and a second candidate into Phase I clinical trials.”

Lycera Closes $36 Million Series A

(Via Biospace)