Waltham, Massachusetts-based Deciphera has now raised $75 million with funding led by New Leaf Ventures, which was joined by the company’s lone major longtime backer, an unnamed “high net worth” investor, according to Xconomy. The funding will be used for the development of a kinase-inhibiting cancer drug.
CEO Michael Taylor has made it clear that the company has been selective about adding investors, beyond the unnamed backer, who has contributed to the $85 million put in since the company was created in 2003. New Leaf managing partner Liam Radcliffe joined Deciphera’s board as part of the round. Deciphera chairman James Bristol and Taylor have known Radcliffe since their days working at Pfizer more than ten years ago.
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Taylor aims to eventually put together a broad syndicate of crossover investors that can support an IPO, but the $75 million, which should fund Deciphera through 2017, gives the company some time to decide when. It’ll gather clinical data over the next year—two of its drugs have either already started, or are on the verge of, their first trials. If the data look good, it’ll have options.
“We’ve talked to a lot of banks and the advice you typically get is if you’ve got a really strong crossover syndicate, the data show that those companies tend to do better,” Taylor said. “But I think [good] clinical data trumps that.”
What Deciphera is working on includes addressing what they call an “internal switch” that turns kinase enzymes, signal molecules that regulate a wide range of cellular activities and which are overactive in some cancers, on and off, controlling their activity and shape. Kinases lay dormant in an “off” position most of the time.
Although other drugs exist that could potentially fulfill the same purpose, Deciphera is looking to create more durable, longer-lasting kinase-inhibiting drugs that could be applicable to a broader range of cancers.
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Photo: Flickr user Bill David
