aTyr Pharma, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, announced that it had secured US$59 million in its Series D financing round. The funds will be used to enhance the research and development of a new class protein-based medicine for treating uncommon immune diseases.
The US$59 million deal includes a US$49 million venture capital raised previously from an anonymous global public investment fund. The rest of the funding came from aTyr's current venture investors. These investors include Cardinal Partners, Alta Partners, Polaris Partners, and Domain Associates. Silicon Valley Bank supplied an additional US$10 million in debt financing.
aTyr CEO John Mendlein told media that the The Series D package is more substantial than the US$47 million in total venture capital financing that aTyr collected through three previous financing rounds. The latest round will enable aTyr to continue to expand the firm's pipeline of additional therapies and for it to deliver its first therapeutic treatment program into the clinic, Mendlein said.
"These new proteins are associated with an ancient gene family previously associated with protein synthesis. We've discovered new pathways in modulating the immune system that were previously unknown," Mendlein explained.
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