BRIEF—Kymera gets $102 million in Series C financing

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA-based biotech Kymera Therapeutics, which is pioneering targeted protein degradation to invent breakthrough protein degrader medicines for patients, today announced the closing of a $102 million Series C financing.

The round was led by Biotechnology Value Fund (BVF) and Redmile Group with participation from Wellington Management Company, Bain Capital Life Sciences, funds managed by Janus Henderson Investors and BlackRock, Rock Springs Capital and a large US-based, healthcare-focused fund. Existing investors also participated in the round.

Kymera also received a strategic investment from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Therapy Acceleration Program (LLS TAP) directed toward advancing the company's work to treat blood-based cancers.

Nello Mainolfi, co-founder, president and chief executive of Kymera Therapeutics, said: "We are well capitalized to advance up to three programs to the clinic by next year, while we continue to enhance our best-in-class platform to unlock new biology and invent new medicines."

Kymera's lead program targets IRAK4, a protein known to play a significant role in inflammation mediated by toll-like and interleukin (IL)-1 receptors.

Kymera is planning to advance its IRAK4 degrader program in a variety of autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases, as well as in precision-medicine targeted oncology indications.

The company is also developing novel protein degrader therapies to target STAT3, an un-drugged oncogenic transcription factor as well as a driver of inflammation and fibrosis, in a range of cancers and chronic diseases.