Dive Brief:
- Upstream Bio has successfully navigated a rocky market for biotech startups to raise $200 million in fresh financing in a Series B round.
- The company plans to use the funds to advance its experimental medicine UPB-101 into Phase 2 trials for asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and is also preparing for “a swift transition to Phase 3 development.” The drug is currently in Phase 1b testing for asthma.
- Enavate Sciences and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners led the latest round of financing, which also attracted new investors Bain Capital Life Sciences and Wellington Management. Enavate’s Edd Fleming and Venrock’s Alex Rosen joined Upstream’s board as well, the company said Thursday.
Dive Insight:
Led by Samantha Truex, Upstream has moved quickly from stealth mode to talk of pivotal studies. The company publicly launched last year after quietly securing $200 million in venture financing and acquiring UPB-101 from Astellas Pharma in an October 2021 auction.
The move from Series A to Series B is more notable than in years past, because of the market downturn that has left a glut of startups unable to secure new funds after an initial financing in 2021. Recent exceptions include Abdera Therapeutics, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals and Chroma Medicine.
Unlike many young startups, Upstream has already moved into the clinic. And it’s looking to enter an enormous market: some 260 million people around the world suffer from asthma, including more than 25 million in the U.S.
Upstream’s specialty is inflammation. UPB-101 aims to shut off diseases like asthma at the root by interfering with a protein that can provide a key early spark for inflammatory response in the body. The drug has shown early promise in dosing research, featured in a poster presented at a recent American Thoracic Society meeting.
The company’s Series B financing also drew investors who participated in Series A: OrbiMed, Access Biotechnology, Decheng Capital, Altshuler Shaham Provident Funds, TCG X, HBM Healthcare Investments, Omega Funds and Samsara BioCapital.