Frontera Therapeutics Completes $160 Million Series B Financing to Fund Clinical Development and Manufacturing Capabilities
Frontera Therapeutics announced successful completion of a $160 million Series B funding round.
In addition, Frontera announced that the FDA has accepted the company’s investigational new drug (IND) application to initiate a first-in-human clinical trial of FT-001, a gene therapy candidate for the treatment of patients with a rare genetic retinal disease that leads to severe vision loss.
“We are very pleased by the strong support from leading international investment firms in the completion of this financing round as we strive to create value for both patients and shareholders,” Yong Dai, PhD, founder and CEO of Frontera, said in a company news release. “The recent clearance of the IND for FT-001 by the FDA, which took less than 2 years to accomplish from program inception, is a testament to our execution capabilities.”
“We are thrilled to support Frontera’s goal of expanding gene therapy to new potential patient populations in the global market,” said Carl Gordon, PhD, CFA, Frontera Board Member and Managing Partner at OrbiMed.
“FT-001’s IND clearance by the FDA is an exciting operational accomplishment for the Frontera scientific and management teams,” said Wei Li, PhD, Chairman, Founding Partner of Creacion Ventures. “Its potential success in the clinic would be an important step toward validating the broader APEX Technology & Manufacturing platform. By creating the first fully-integrated, efficient and scalable adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene expression system, Frontera has the opportunity to shorten the time between product discovery, clinical development, and ultimately approvals across multiple programs.”
Frontera Therapeutics has secured total financing of $195 million since its founding in 2019, with investments from OrbiMed and Creacion Ventures in an initial $35 million Series A round.
The Series B investors include Boyu Capital, Sequoia China, OrbiMed, Creacion Ventures, and other investors.