PHILADELPHIA– Ceptur Therapeutics, Inc. (“Ceptur”), a biotechnology company focused on developing targeted oligonucleotide therapeutics based on U1 Adaptor technology, today announced the completion of a $75M Series A financing. The round was co-led by venBio Partners and Qiming Venture Partners USA with participation by new investors Perceptive Xontogeny Venture (PXV) Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb and Janus Henderson Investors along with existing Seed investors Affinity Asset Advisors, Boxer Capital and LifeSci Venture Partners.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of our new and existing investors,“ said Ceptur Therapeutics co-founder, President and CEO P. Peter Ghoroghchian, MD, PhD. “In 2021, we in-licensed and internally expanded our foundational IP portfolio on U1 Adaptor technology; we further recruited a world-class scientific advisory board, comprising academic and industry leaders in oligonucleotide therapeutics. Moving forward, Ceptur will use the proceeds of this financing round to advance our broad discovery pipeline of differentiated genetic medicines.”
U1 Adaptors are bivalent oligonucleotides that engage sequence-specific mRNA and the U1 small nuclear ribonuclear protein (U1 snRNP), which is a ubiquitous intracellular machine that regulates transcription and splicing. U1 Adaptor therapeutics control gene expression at the pre-mRNA level within the nucleus, affording advantageous properties for drugging difficult targets.
“Therapeutic approaches that target RNA have become an essential treatment modality for patients with genetic diseases and a priority for many biopharma companies; we believe that the U1 Adaptor technology is a differentiated approach to RNA regulation that has multiple potential advantages over current technologies”, said Aaron Royston, M.D., M.B.A., Managing Partner at venBio Partners. “We are excited to further build out Ceptur’s team and capabilities, to demonstrate these unique applications, and, ultimately, to advance novel therapeutics for patients with genetic diseases.”
Colin Walsh, Ph.D., Partner at Qiming Venture Partners USA, added, “RNA-based drugs have already become an essential tool in our therapeutic arsenal; and, we strongly believe that this modality will continue to deliver meaningful new therapies for patients. Ceptur’s use of synthetic oligonucleotides that engage U1 snRNP offers the ability to co-opt this master regulator of the transcriptome to regulate mRNA in a highly targeted fashion. We are thrilled to support Ceptur’s next phase of growth as they apply this disruptive approach for novel therapeutic applications.”
With this financing, Aaron Royston, M.D., M.B.A., and Colin Walsh, Ph.D., join Ceptur’s Board of Directors.
Daniel Heller, M.S., M.B.A., General Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Affinity Asset Advisors, continued, “In leading the Series Seed round, we identified early the potential of U1 Adaptor technology. Over the past year, we have worked closely with Peter and the Ceptur team and are delighted at the progress that has been made towards establishing the platform. In this financing round, we have significantly expanded upon our initial commitment and are inspired to partner with our new investor syndicate to advance U1 Adaptors for unmet patient needs.”
