PARIS– Jeito Capital (“Jeito”), a leading independent Private Equity firm dedicated to biotech and biopharma, announced today that it has co-led a $76 million Series A financing round in CDR-Life, a privately-held biotech company developing a new generation of immuno-oncology therapies.
Jeito co-led the financing within a strong international syndicate, with RA Capital Management and the participation of Omega Fund Management, as the third investor in this round. Following the completion of the round, Dr Rafaèle Tordjman, founder and CEO of Jeito Capital, Daniel Marks, principal of RA Capital, and Claudio Nessi, managing director of Omega Fund Management, will join the company’s board of directors.
Founded in 2017, CDR-Life leverages the exceptional expertise and track record of its founders, Christian Leisner, Dominik Escher, Konstantin von Schulthess, Leonardo Borras, Rouven Bingel- Erlenmeyer, who together have developed new antibody drugs, notably FDA approved Beovu®, and closed major biotech deals, such as ESBATech, in the field of ophthalmology.
CDR-Life is currently advancing its lead program, CDR404, the first dual MAGE-A4 T-cell engager that targets solid tumors across multiple indications, based on the company’s unique M-gager® technology. The Series A funding will advance CDR404 through potential clinical proof-of-concept readout as well as expansion of the pipeline leveraging the Company’s M-gager® technology for targeting intracellular antigens positioned to deliver unparalleled specificity and affinity in solid tumors.
With CDR-Life, Jeito completes its third investment in the field of oncology, and continues to strengthen its portfolio in this therapeutic area where there is still a strong need for breakthrough therapies. CDR-Life’s technology brings high potential for better profile treatments to address patients suffering from various cancers with currently limited therapeutic options. The company has established itself in Europe where the environment is conducive to innovation for the development of clinical trials.
Dr Rafaèle Tordjman, founder and CEO of Jeito, said : “We are thrilled to invest in CDR-Life which absolutely embodies our investment strategy with its high-quality science in T-cell engagers, expert leadership team which has together already built a previous successful Biotech company, strong syndicate of investors and significant capital. Jeito Capital with this 10th investment is building a diversified portfolio of the next generation of European biotech leaders with a global reach in different therapeutic areas and development stages. CDR-Life is ideally positioned to accelerate its therapies based on innovative modalities for the benefit of millions of patients with limited therapeutic options.”
