On August 8, 2019 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, a privately held, clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing cancer treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported the closing of a $55 million Series D financing. This financing brings the total capital raised by the Company to over $175 million (Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, AUG 8, 2019, View Source [SID1234538476]).
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The round was led by new investors Arrowmark Partners and Invus Opportunities, who were joined by Hartford HealthCare Endowment, Casdin Capital, and others. Also participating were ORIC’s existing investors, including The Column Group, TopSpin Partners, OrbiMed, EcoR1 Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, City Hill Ventures, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Kravis Investment Partners, Foresite Capital, and Taiho Ventures.
ORIC will use the proceeds to support continued clinical development of its lead candidate, ORIC-101—a potent and selective glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist—in multiple Phase 1b studies and enable advancement into one or more Phase 2 studies. Current or planned Phase 1b studies of ORIC-101 include a combination with Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) in patients with solid tumors and a combination with an androgen receptor modulator in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The investment also will support advancement of ORIC’s second program—an orally available, small molecule inhibitor of CD73—into clinical development as well as further the preclinical development of additional pipeline programs targeting mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in cancer.
"We are pleased that through this Series D financing, we have expanded our investor base with additional prominent investors who are joined by our existing syndicate in supporting ORIC’s work on behalf of patients with cancer," said Jacob Chacko, MD, ORIC’s CEO. "Over the past year, we have significantly reshaped ORIC’s senior leadership team by recruiting a new CMO, CSO, CBO, and SVP of Clinical Development, all of whom have deep expertise in oncology drug discovery and development. This stellar team, combined with a strong balance sheet, enable us to advance our pipeline of internally generated programs. In addition, we are well positioned to opportunistically and selectively augment our pipeline with external assets that fit within ORIC’s vision and that leverage our team’s expertise."
"Our Board and investors continue to be excited about the therapeutic potential of ORIC-101 as well as the broader pipeline that addresses the problem of cancer treatment resistance," said Richard Heyman, PhD, ORIC co-Founder and Chairman. "The support of our investor syndicate strengthens ORIC’s foundation and will help ORIC achieve its mission of overcoming resistance in cancer."