Regenerative medicine company ViaCyte, Inc Wednesday stated that it plans to complete its USD80m Series D financing in two tranches led by Bain Capital Life Sciences and joined by TPG and RA Capital Management, existing investor, Sanderling Ventures as well as several individual supporters.

In the second half of this year, ViaCyte has secured commitments for over USD100m in new financing with WL Gore and Associates and CRISPR Therapeutics,

The proceeds from the financing will be used to further advance ViaCyte's novel stem cell-derived islet replacement therapies. These therapies have the potential to provide a functional cure for patients with type 1 diabetes as well as an important option for patients with type 2 diabetes who depend on insulin to help control their disease.

Currently, ViaCyte has two stem cell-derived islet replacement therapy candidates at the clinical stage: PEC-Direct and PEC-Encap. The PEC-Direct is a a transformative therapy for high-risk type 1 diabetes patients and is currently being evaluated in the second stage of a Phase 1/2 trial, with initial proof-of-efficacy data expected as early as mid-2019. The PEC-Encap product candidate is initially being developed for all patients with type 1 diabetes and clinical evaluation is expected to resume next year.

Raymond James acted as the sole placement agent on the transaction.