Therapy Areas: Oncology
Platelet BioGenesis Raises USD 26m in series A-1 Financing
10 September 2019 - - US-based Platelet BioGenesis, Inc., a specialist in stem cell-derived, on-demand human platelets (PLTs+) and platelet-based therapeutics, has raised more than USD 26m in series A-1 financing, the company said.

This round in addition to series A financing and numerous grants brings PBG's total funding to approximately USD 45m.

Ziff Capital Partners and Qiming Venture Partners USA co-led the series A-1 round, marking the former's first investment in PBG. Existing investors Nest.Bio Ventures and eCoast Angels also participated in the round, among others.

As a part of ZCP's investment, Steven Altschuler, M.D., the company's managing director of healthcare ventures, will join PBG's board of directors.

Dr. Altschuler is a recognised expert in gene and cell therapy, and chairman of the board of Spark Therapeutics, a company he co-founded while serving as the CEO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Spark Therapeutics' advancements have garnered attention across the industry and the company is currently in the process of being acquired by Roche for USD 4.3bn.

Dr. Altschuler also sits on the board of several other highly innovative biotech companies, including AsclepiX Therapeutics Inc. and ImVaX Inc.

PBG will use the funds from the series A-1 round to accelerate the development of its donor-independent platelet manufacturing capabilities and advance its proof of concept work around platelet-based therapeutics.

The company plans to double its staff to approximately 50 employees in 2020.

This announcement comes on the heels of several key developments for PBG.

In addition to Dr. Rasty's appointment as president and CEO in July, the company recently added biotech veteran Richard Murray, Ph.D., to its board of directors.

PBG is expanding its operational capacity and moving into a new 18,000-square-foot headquarters in Watertown, Mass., early next year.

Platelet BioGenesis has created the only platform that can generate human platelets at scale. The stem cell-derived, on-demand platelets will be the first donor-independent source of platelets to address the chronic shortage worldwide.

The company is also developing platelet-based therapeutics, a new treatment modality for cancer and other life-threatening diseases. PBG's platform is patented and cGMP-compliant.

The company was spun out of Harvard University and has received venture funding from Qiming Venture Partners USA and other investors, and has obtained grant funding from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Defense.
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