Our latest roundup of venture capital financings in the biotech sector includes impressive rounds for SonoThera, Ethyreal, CeQur, and City Therapeutics.

SonoThera raises $125m for genetic medicines

San Francisco-based SonoThera closed an oversubscribed $125 million Series B financing round, saying it will use the proceeds to advance programmes for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) into clinical testing, and expand its pipeline of ultrasound-mediated nonviral genetic therapies.

The company’s mission is to overcome the limitations of current gene therapies, often related to the safety and effectiveness of delivery vehicles, with the development of targeted, redosable genetic payloads that are delivered using microbubbles – already used for imaging purposes – and released only at specific target cells and tissues selected using localised ultrasound signals.

The financing was led by Vida Ventures, with participation from ARK Invest, CureDuchenne Ventures, Leaps by Bayer, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, SymBiosis, UCB Ventures SA, Vivo Capital, and existing investors.

Ethyreal Bio emerges with $101m for thyroid disorder drugs

Massachusetts-based Ethyreal Bio’s $101 million in first- and second-round financing will fund the development of an anti-TSHR antibody for thyroid eye disease (TED) and Graves’ disease (GD) that is due to start human trials this year.

If it reaches the market, Ethyrea’s ETHY-001 drug would be a rival to Amgen’s IGF-1 inhibitor Tepezza (teprotumumab), which was the first drug to be approved by the FDA for TED in 2020, achieving sales of $1.9 billion last year. Both TED and Graves are autoimmune disorders, attacking tissues of the eyes and the thyroid, respectively, and are often seen simultaneously in the same individual. However, current treatments treat each condition separately, and Ethyreal is hoping that targeting TSHR will allow it to deliver a medicine that can treat both at the same time.

The Series A was co-led by Atlas Venture and Medicxi Ventures, alongside Nandi Life Sciences and Checkpoint Capital while the Series B was led by Avoro Capital.

CeQur adds $100m to speed its insulin patch rollout

In the medtech arena, Switzerland’s CeQur completed a Series E financing, raising $100 million that is earmarked for accelerating the “commercial growth” of its CeQur Simplicity insulin patch, designed as a discreet alternative to mealtime injections.

First approved by the FDA in 2021, the non-digital, mechanical patch is filled with rapid-acting insulin and can be worn for up to seven continuous days before being replaced, filling a gap between insulin pens and automated insulin pumps. Users press two buttons on the side of the device to deliver a dose when needed.

CeQur said the new funding will “accelerate growth across every dimension of the commercial operation” and will go towards expanding the company’s sales teams, as well as its manufacturing capacity and R&D into new products.

City Therapeutics targets three clinical-stage assets by year-end

Fuelled by its $99.5 million Series B, Massachusetts biotech City Therapeutics – a specialist in RNA interference (RNAi) therapies chaired by former Alnylam CEO John Maraganore – is expecting to add two additional clinical-stage projects to its lead programme for thromboembolic diseases in phase 1.

Proceeds will be used to fund a recently started study of CITY-FXI, an RNAi against coagulation Factor XI, which has emerged in recent years as a target for novel anticoagulant therapies. It will also support the start of clinical trials of CITY-RBP4 for inherited retinal disorder Stargardt disease, which has shown promise in preclinical testing, along with a third, unidentified project, by the end of 2026.

The round saw participation from new backers Viking Global Investors and Sofinnova Investments, along with Casdin Capital and NYBC Ventures, and existing investors that include ARCH Venture Partners, Fidelity Management & Research, Invus, Slate Path Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Regeneron Ventures, and AN Ventures.

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