Japan's Taiho Ventures backs US cancer drug developer
Taiho Ventures, the newly established VC arm of Japan’s Taiho Pharmaceutical, has participated in a $70 million Series B round of funding for Arcus Biosciences, a US-based start-up that develops cancer drugs.
The addition of Taiho Ventures to the investor roster is expected to help the company penetrate the Japan and wider Asian market, according to a statement. Other participants in the round include new entrants, GV, Invus, Droia Oncology Ventures and Stanford University as well as existing backers The Column Group, Foresite Capital, Novartis and Celgene.
The capital will go towards the development of small molecules and antibodies used in cancer immunotherapy treatments. Arcus specializes in drugs that interfere with the inhibitory signals produced by tumors against certain elements of the immune system. The first generation of treatments focused on checkpoint inhibitors, but these are not effective in all cases, so Arcus is working on drugs that would penetrate more deeply into the immune response cycle.
Taiho Pharmaceutical is also an oncology specialist, best known for an oral anti-cancer agent that dissolves quickly and enables easier administration for patients with swallowing difficulties. The VC unit launched in May with a remit to invest an initial pool of $50 million in global start-ups focused on cancer therapies. It targets early-stage developers of therapeutic products and drug-enabling platform technologies.
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