Blueprint Medicines today announced the completion of a $25 million
Series B financing. The oncology-focused investor, Nextech Invest Ltd.,
led the round, which also included founding investors Third Rock
Ventures and Fidelity Biosciences as well as public investors Biotech
Value Fund, L.P., Casdin Capital, LLC and other undisclosed investors.
“The strong team of leaders and scientific founders behind Blueprint
Medicines have successfully built a product engine and resulting
product-candidate pipeline that brings to life the vision of treating
patients based on specific genomic drivers of cancer. We believe this
approach is core to the future of oncology therapy with the promise of
significantly improving survival while minimizing toxicities for
patients,” said Thilo Schroeder, Ph.D. of Nextech Invest Ltd. “Blueprint
Medicines stands out for its high quality science and early track record
for successful execution.”
Blueprint’s lead programs include the first known selective inhibitors
of the KIT D816V mutation, which is the genomic driver of the
underserved systemic mastocystosis patient population, as well as a key
genomically defined subset of patients with gastrointestinal stromal
tumors (GIST). The Company’s pipeline also includes the first known
isoform-selective FGFR4 inhibitors for patients with hepatocellular
carcinoma with FGF19 amplification, the first clear genomic driver in
liver cancer, and other tumors. Blueprint expects to initiate clinical
trials for these programs in 2015.
“The Blueprint team is aggressively advancing our pipeline of selective,
genomically defined product candidates,” said Alexis Borisy, president
and interim chief executive officer of Blueprint Medicines. “Given our
approach of selective compounds to clear genomic drivers, with the
resources provided to us through this financing, we will be able to move
forward into the clinic and rapidly establish clinical proof-of-concept
in well-defined patient populations. These product candidates will be
developed as single agents in late-stage and resistant patient
populations, and in combinations with other targeted agents and
modalities in earlier lines of therapy.”
About Blueprint Medicines
Blueprint Medicines is a patient-driven oncology company developing
highly selective kinase inhibitors for genomically-defined cancer
subsets. Led by a management team and advisors with world-renowned
expertise in cancer genomics, drug discovery and clinical oncology,
Blueprint has developed a platform that combines genomics with a novel
library of kinase inhibitors, enabling Blueprint to rapidly develop
potent highly selective compounds against clear genomic driver targets.
Founded in 2011, Blueprint is privately held and was initially financed
by Third Rock Ventures and Fidelity BioSciences. For more information,
please visit www.BlueprintMedicines.com.
About Nextech Invest Ltd.
Nextech Invest is a global investment manager founded 1998 and located
in Zurich, Switzerland. With its unique oncology-focused funds, Nextech
Invest is a dedicated investor in leading oncology companies developing
cancer drugs and diagnostics. Nextech Invest benefits from the support
of an active 7-member Scientific Advisory Board of highly influential
oncology advisors, chaired by David Livingston, MD, deputy director at
the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center. For more
information, please visit www.nextechinvest.com.
About Third Rock Ventures
Third Rock Ventures is a leading healthcare venture firm focused on
investing and launching companies that make a difference in people’s
lives. The Third Rock team has a unique vision for ideating and building
transformative healthcare companies. Working closely with our strategic
partners and entrepreneurs, Third Rock has an extensive track record for
managing the value creation path to deliver exceptional performance. For
more information, please visit the firm’s website at www.thirdrockventures.com.
About Fidelity Biosciences
Fidelity Biosciences is a subsidiary of FMR LLC, the parent company of
Fidelity Investments, one of the world's leading providers of financial
services. For more than 40 years, Fidelity has been a significant
presence in the venture capital and private equity industry, investing
the firm's own capital since 1969. Learn more at www.fidelitybiosciences.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014