A Bala Cnywyd gene therapy company developing treatments for neurological disease has raised $52 million in a private stock sale, marking one of the region’s largest equity financings for a life sciences company this year.
SwanBio Therapeutics plans to use the proceeds from its Series A round to advance its lead new drug candidate, grow its product pipeline and expand its staff.
The company has 24 employees and expects to add another 20.
SwanBio’s equity financing was led by Syncona Ltd., a London-based venture capital firm that focuses on life sciences investments, and Partners Innovation Fund, the venture fund for Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals. The two invested a combined $20 million in the company.
Founded in 2017, SwanBio’s lead program targets adrenomyeloneuropathy, a rare and inherited neurodegenerative disease that causes the spinal cord dysfunction and is characterized by weakness and stiffness in the legs. The condition affects fewer than one in 40,000 people.
