2 July 2020 - - US-based biotechnology company Goldfinch Bio has closed an oversubscribed series B financing, which raised USD 100m, the company said.

The financing was led by Eventide Asset Management, and included new investors Wellington Management company, Ally Bridge Group, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Casdin Capital, LLC and Irving Investors, along with existing investors Gilead Sciences, Yonjin Capital, Schroeder Adveq and other undisclosed institutional investors.

In connection with the financing, Joy Ghosh, Ph.D., a senior research analyst at Eventide Asset Management, will join the company's board of directors.

Goldfinch is currently advancing two programmes through development: GFB-887, a first-in-class selective inhibitor of Transient Receptor Potential Canonical Channel 5 (TRPC5) and GFB-024, a peripherally-restricted cannabinoid receptor 1 inverse agonist.

The company plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial of GFB-887 in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and diabetic nephropathy, two diseases often driven by overactivation of the TRPC5-Rac1 pathway, in mid-20201, and to submit an investigational new drug application for GFB-024 to treat CB1-mediated DN in 2021.

Proceeds from the series B financing will enable the advancement of GFB-887 and GFB-024 through three potential clinical proof-of-concept readouts, in FSGS and DN and in CB1-mediated DN, respectively, and will also support continued development of the company's discovery platform and preclinical pipeline.

Goldfinch Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company that leverages a genomics-based, precision medicine approach to discovering and developing kidney disease treatments.

Its Kidney Genome Atlas is a proprietary biology platform that drives candidate discovery, patient selection and biomarker development.

The company's lead candidate, GFB-887, is a TRPC5 ion channel inhibitor, expected to enter Phase 2 clinical studies in mid-2020 for the treatment of kidney diseases.

Goldfinch Bio is also developing GFB-024, a peripherally-restricted cannabinoid receptor 1 inverse agonist monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of rare and metabolic kidney diseases and expects to submit an investigational new drug application in 2021.

Goldfinch Bio, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was launched in 2016 by Third Rock Ventures and has an established strategic collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc.