On March 9, 2021, Ventyx Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of immune modulators to treat inflammatory diseases and autoimmune disorders, announced the completion of a $114 million equity financing. The financing was led by venBio Partners alongside investors including Third Point, RTW Investments, Janus Henderson Investors, Wellington Management, OrbiMed, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Farallon Capital, Vivo Capital, Logos Capital, Qiming Venture Partners USA, and Cormorant Asset Management. Founding investor New Science Ventures also participated. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Ventyx Biosciences on corporate and patent matters related to the transaction.
Ventyx’s internally discovered and wholly owned portfolio of potent and selective small molecule drug candidates targets multiple indications in the immunology space, including gastrointestinal and dermatological diseases. The company’s pipeline combines the clinical-stage programs of three companies founded by Raju Mohan and New Science Ventures: (1) a tissue selective S1P1R modulator for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other indications that was developed by Oppilan Pharma; (2) a selective allosteric TYK2 inhibitor, developed by Ventyx, that is projected to demonstrate high efficacy and therapeutic utility across a broad range of immunological disorders; and (3) the NLRP3 inhibitor program, created by Zomagen. The first candidate of this program will enter the clinic in the second half of this year. In addition, the company is leveraging its world-class drug discovery platform to advance preclinical programs against other biologically relevant targets involved in difficult-to-treat inflammatory diseases and autoimmune disorders.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Ventyx on the transaction includes the following:
Corporate
Marty Waters
Jason Skolnik
Brandon Shaw
Patents and Innovations
Mike Hostetler
Ingo Hardt
James Malecha
For more information, please see Ventyx Biosciences’ press release.