April 21, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Cambridge, Mass.-based rare disease startup Dimension Therapeutics is having a big day Tuesday, after announcing it has a closed a $65 million Series B funding round led by new investor New Leaf Venture Partners. Other participants included new investors Jennison Associates Partner Fund Management, RA Capital Management, Rock Springs Capital and Tourbillon Global Ventures, as well as existing investors Fidelity Biosciences and OrbiMed. An unnamed life sciences investor also put up a stake.
As part of the deal, Mike Dybbs, a partner at New Leaf Venture Partners, will join Dimension’s board of directors, while Allan M. Fox of FOXKISER, the founders of REGENXBIO, will leave his seat at the board.
“Dimension is differentiated in the gene therapy sector both in terms of the company’s focus on liver-associated, rare metabolic diseases and the impressive track record of its highly accomplished leadership team,” said Dybbs. “We believe Dimension’s breakthrough platform has strong potential to transform the lives of patients, and we look forward to further progress of the company’s programs.”
The company appeared to agree. Dimension said Tuesday it will use the funds to pour money into its adeno-associated virus (AAV) platform and growing pipeline of gene therapy programs, with its first program expected to enter clinical testing in patients with hemophilia B in the second half of 2015. The startup said other programs treating indications in rare diseases will begin IND-enabling studies during the next 12 to 18 months, with the objective of advancing three clinic-ready programs next year.
“We are pleased with the substantial support from new and existing investors. The strong demand in our Series B affirms the rapid progress we have achieved to date and reflects continued broad interest in the promise of gene therapy to address compelling unmet needs in the treatment of rare diseases,” said Dimension’s CEO Annalisa Jenkins in a statement.
It is clear investors are scrambling to get in on the ground floor of a startup that has attracted massive amounts of interest since its founding in 2013, via a collaboration with REGENXBIO and Fidelity Biosciences. Over the last year alone, Dimension has raked in more than $100 million, as well as a $20 million upfront payment from Bayer HealthCare last June. That interest has left Dimension is a solid position moving forward, said executives Tuesday.
“We are well-capitalized for the next stage of our development as we advance our lead programs into the clinic and continue to expand our R&D pipeline focused on rare diseases associated with the liver,” said Jenkins.
