With all initial investors returning for more, Moma Therapeutics just closed out a $150 million series B funding round to move its precision oncology programs into the clinic in the next two years.
The biopharmaceutical’s goal is to discover the next generation of precision medicines by going after disease-causing proteins known as the ATPase class of enzymes. A few successful drugs, such as Vertex's cystic fibrosis therapy Kalydeco, already target these enzymes, but there is plenty of potential still to explore. Moma has gone all-in, constructing a pipeline around the proteins, and investors are following suit.
The biotech's second financing round was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which oversees more than $2 trillion in assets worldwide. Other new investors included Section 32, Pavilion Capital, Invus and LifeSci Venture Partners. They were joined by a full team of Moma’s series A investors—Third Rock Ventures, Nextech Invest, Cormorant Asset Management, Casdin Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Creacion Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments—alongside other undisclosed backers.
As part of the latest financing round, Moma appointed Amit Sinha, head of life sciences investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, to its board of directors.
Moma, which raised $86 million in a series A after launching in 2020, targets a a family of more than 400 enzymes—called "molecular machines"—that are linked to movements inside cells. The initial round helped advance Moma’s drug discovery platform, generate multiple oncology programs and expand the company’s team, Moma CEO Asit Parikh, M.D., Ph.D., said in a release Tuesday.
Now, Moma hopes the injection of $150 million will accelerate one or more of its five oncology programs—two of which are in lead optimization—to clinic by mid-2024, a spokesperson told Fierce Biotech. The company also plans to expand its pipeline into other areas beyond oncology, according to the spokesperson. By the end of 2022, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical anticipates its team—currently comprised of 54—to grow into the mid-60s.