A company developing drugs across a wide variety of therapeutic areas – including several that are in Phase III development – with backing from Japan’s SoftBank has raised $200 million in equity investment.
Roivant Sciences – based in Basel, Switzerland – announced Tuesday the investment round, which gives the company a $7 billion valuation. It is part of a family of companies started by hedge fund manager and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who also founded Axovant Sciences, which is now publicly traded.
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Most of the latest round of financing came from new investors NovaQuest Capital Management and RTW Investments, among others. Roivant made headlines in August 2017 when the SoftBank Vision Fund led a $1.1 billion equity investment in the company. Roivant also has several subsidiaries, including Enzyvant and Myovant, and the companies are referred to collectively as the Vants. Since the financing last year, the number of Vants has increased from six to 14, while the number of people they employ has grown from fewer than 350 to more than 750, the company said.
Product candidates in Phase III development include relugolix, for uterine fibroids, endometriosis and prostate cancer; vibegron, for overactive bladder and IBS-associated pain; lefamulin, for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia; derazantinib, for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; and BB3, for delayed graft function and acute kidney injury. Numerous other products are in Phase I and Phase II as well as preclinical development, while Enzyvant has filed for Food and Drug Administration approval of another, RVT-802. In total, the company has more than 30 investigational drugs across 14 therapeutic areas.
The company said it anticipates top-line data from the Phase III from six Phase III trials and multiple readouts from earlier-stage studies next year.
Another biotech company that reached a $7 billion valuation was Moderna Therapeutics, which on Monday filed an S-1 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $500 million in an initial public offering, potentially the largest-ever biotech IPO. Moderna’s valuation was determined after the company closed a $500 million Series G funding round nine months ago.
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